Labored Breathing
by Kayliem1999
Summary: Sequel to Barely Breathing. HYDRA had taken over SHIELD and the team is on the run. Lindsey is back and she's got more demons than she can count. With both Ward and Michael turning to HYDRA she's having a hard time finding air to breathe. Why is Skye not allowed on missions? Why did Ward turn? Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1: Heil Hydra

**So this is the sequel I promised. I had it written out already, but after watching this weeks episode, I trashed what I had written and started over. I OWN NOTHING!**

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Lindsey and Michael had been assigned to a position at the Hub. They were in security for now awaiting the assignment of their next op. That's when it all happened. The code popped up on the screen and an Agent at the panel behind hers tried desperately to decipher it.

The code rolled away revealing letter after letter. 'HYDRA.' It couldn't be. HYDRA had been destroyed over seventy years ago. Hadn't it died when Rogers went into the ice? Red lights began flickering in the room and sirens sounded. Chaos erupted around Lindsey as she rose to her feet. She pulled her glasses off of her face and her mouth fell open.

"No," she whispered incredulously. The monitors in front of her showed other agents being shot at and murdered. Blood splattered on one of the screens and she closed her eyes looking away. SHIELD was falling apart. Like her colleagues, it was being murdered by the hand of other agents.

Then, she felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun press to her temple. Lindsey couldn't see who it was, but her eyes flickered across the room looking for a way out. There was a gun lying on the control panel just inches away from her hand and there was a knife shoved in the waistband of her pencil skirt.

"Heil Hydra," Michael said.

"Michael," Lindsey said her voice shaky. "You don't have to do this."

"That's where you're wrong," Michael replied. "You were my cover. I needed to get up in ranks in SHIELD. If I was close to the great Agent 72, I would surely be a level 6 in no time."

The words were like a dagger in her stomach, twisting with ever syllable. She knew he was telling the truth. And as she stood there trying to plot her escape, she wished he had died with the rest of their team. That way, she wouldn't feel the way she did. She could've gone the rest of her life thinking the boy she had fallen for actually loved back. That he was a good agent. But, he wasn't. He was going to kill her in cold blood. Michael was a bad man, a liar and a dirty agent.

She could hear the bullet click into place and feel his grip tighten on the trigger. With every gunfire that echoed through the room, she tensed terrified that the bullet being shot was going through her skull.

In one swift movement, she pulled her knife out of her skirt and elbowed him in the stomach eliciting a grunt. Lindsey slashed at Michael's arm slicing a gash. He fired the gun, but the bullet whizzed past her ear and dug a hole in the wall behind her. The gun fell out of his hand and clattered to the floor.

Lindsey landed a punch in his nose and his head flung back. She swung the knife, but his arm hit against hers blocking the blow. With expertise, he twisted her arm causing her to drop the knife. He grabbed it and swung it at her.

Lindsey jumped out of the way, but it still slit open the scar above her eye. She kicked him and the knife fell out of his hand sliding out of their reach.

They were evenly matched. Each punch was blocked almost effortlessly, every kick was countered. Lindsey had trained him, taught him everything she knew. Well, almost everything.

She launched her whole body at him wrapping her legs around his neck. She shifted her weight causing him to fall to the ground in a heap. She fell on top of him and recovered quicker than he did pinning him. His hand reached around for the gun only inches away from them. Lindsey kicked it out of his reach and grabbed it. Big mistake. He threw her off of him and she landed with a thud on the floor. Quickly, she came to her feet still holding the gun. She trained it on him.

With an evil smirk on his lips, his held his hands up.

"You can't shoot me," Michael said coolly.

"What makes you think that?" Lindsey asked removing the safety.

"You wouldn't kill the boy you love would you."

"No," Lindsey said. "But I would kill a traitor."

"I dare you," Michael said.

That was it. Lindsey fired the gun once. The bullet lodged in his chest. Then, another and another. With every step she took toward him, she continued to fire at him. Tears were in her eyes now, but she ignored them. Michael fell to the ground, but that stop her. She was standing over him now. He was dead, but she still fired. Then, the gun in her hand clicked. She was out of bullets.

She dropped the gun and grabbed the one still resting on the panel. Quickly, she unbuttoned her white blouse and disguarded it on the floor. She sprinted across the room and opened the weapons closet.

Lindsey could hear screaming in the hallway and hurried up. She strapped on a bullet proof vest and a loaded holster to her thigh. With shaky hands, she filled the pockets on her vest with various weapons and extra clips.

Lindsey peaked around the corner of door checking to see if the coast was clear. She ran down the hallway trying to ignore the fear boiling in her stomach. She needed to find an ally.

That's when she heard the sound of Coulson's voice. She followed it increasing her speed and found him with the rest of his team –minus Ward –in the lab. She ran into the room loudly.

"Lindsey," Coulson gasped.

Lindsey was a mess. There was blood dripping from her forehead, she was crying and she looked terrified out of her mind.

She ran toward him and let him wrap his arms around her body.

"Michael," she whimpered. "He's… He's HYRDA. I… I k-killed him. He tried to kill me."

"Shh," Coulson whispered into her hair. "It's okay."

What felt like an eternity later, she pulled away from Coulson. She inhaled a shaky breath and let it out wiping her eyes.

"We need to get out of here now," May said.

So that's how they ended up sprinting down the hallways guns drawn in full-spy mode. Lindsey led them through the maze of the Hub, knowing all of the back-ways out. And, where Agent Hand had hidden the Bus.

When they climbed onto the Bus, they had luckily only run into a few defected agents. Easily, they had taken them out. But now, there was no SHIELD. They couldn't trust anyone anymore. Until HYRDA came down, they would be on the run. They didn't know where they were going, just that they needed to go off the grid.

So as the Bus raised into the air, they sat silently not looking at each other. They didn't say anything either. Simmons was making the rounds, playing doctor and assessing injuries. She sat in front of Lindsey stitching up the cut above her eye.

"Do you thing I'll have a scar?" Lindsey joked shooting Simmons a sad smile as she wiped off her hands.

"I know you'll have a scar," Simmons smiled.

"Good, they make me look tough," Lindsey smiled.

May chuckled from her spot on the couch next to her. Lindsey leaned back so she was curled up on the couch. Melinda wrapped her arm around her pulling her close. Maybe she was a Level 8 SHIELD agent, that didn't mean she didn't have maternal instincts. She removed Lindsey's blonde hair from the untidy bun and combed her fingers through it slowly. Melinda watched Lindsey's eyes flutter closed and her ragged breathing even out. For now, Lindsey was safe. For now, they were all safe.

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	2. Chapter 2: Six Months

**I OWN NOTHING!**

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Lindsey stepped into the ballroom, Triplett's arm wrapped around her shoulder. From across the room, she could see May and Coulson entering across the room. It had been six months of missions like this. One after another, infiltrating HYDRA functions and taking out as many as they could. They were trying to cripple the HYDRA heads, that's what Lindsey had taken to calling them.

Fury had called them that morning to inform them that he was not in fact dead and that he knew where a large amount of traitor agents would be. May turned around the plane headed straight for London. They landed in the woods near one of Coulson's safe houses. On the kitchen table, there were boxes of next generation weapons and white boxes with designer labels on them. There was a note on the table, Lindsey picked it up.

"Enjoy from you know who," Lindsey read aloud. She opened a weapons box and pulled out a gun. She looked at it smiling and clicked a bullet in place.

"Damn," May muttered opening the lid of a white box. Lindsey put down the gun and peeked over her shoulder. Each box held either a dress for the girls paired with matching accessories or tuxedos for the men.

"Guess Hill made it out alive too," Lindsey commented. "There is no way Fury could've matched these shoes with this dress."

She pulled the dress in question out of the box and held it against her body. It was short and black. At the waist it flowed out into full a wide skirt. The bodice was made of the same material, but a layer of lace went over it creating an intricate design. It had short sleeves and Lindsey could already tell it was form fitting.

"That's definitely for you," Melinda stated handing her the box.

Melinda's dress was much simpler. It was a deep maroon and looked more professional than Lindsey's did.

And now there they were heavily armed and scanning the crowd for something. Lindsey didn't know what. Something suspicious she assumed. So far, nothing seemed out of place.

"Everything seems normal, I don't recognize anyone here," Lindsey said over her Comm.

"Copy that," Skye said over the Comm.

"We've been over this," Coulson said. "This isn't a spy movie; you don't need to say crap like that."

"It lightens the mood," Skye huffed over the network. It was very clear she would much rather be in the field with them.

That's when she saw him. Grant Ward. He was standing across the room and he saw her too. Lindsey's blood ran cold and she could feel her stomach drop. She knew what he had done. Killed countless loyal SHIELD agents, murdered civilians, killed Agent Hand, traded international secrets, the list went on. But the thing that made her hate him the most was that he had abandoned the team. Grant had lied to them all, deceived everyone; including her.

"I'm gonna go mingle and see if I can get a few secrets," Lindsey muttered to Triplett. Inhaling, she walked down the steps and walked over to the punch bowl. And that's when a bullet flew past her head. She looked over her shoulder to see who fired it. Garrett.

She fired at him as chaos erupted around. Lindsey dodged bullet after bullet being fired at her continuing to shoot. But her aim was off. Luckily for her she hit other HYDRA agents, just not the man trying to kill her.

"Skye," Lindsey shouted over the Comm. "Our cover had been compromised."

"Finding you a way out," Skye replied.

She watched May come up behind him and tackle him to the ground knocking the gun out of his hand. It skittered away from him.

"Go, Lindsey," Melinda shouted at her.

So she turned and sprinted away from them. Ward had slipped away and she needed to find him before he got away. Because of the chaos, it was easy for her to sneak out of a door. With her gun out, Lindsey walked down the hallway, her heels clicking silently against the tile.

At the end of the hallway, she found a door. Holding her gun with one hand, she jiggled the knob. It was locked. Exasperated, she took a step back. She did not have time for this. Without hesitating, she aimed at the knob and fired. The door swung open easily.

With her gun outstretched, Lindsey entered the room slowly. Ward was standing only feet away from her. They had guns trained on each other. Her expression was cold and menacing.  
It made Grant hate himself even more, he never thought he'd be on the receiving end of that look.

"Lindsey," Grant said. She didn't move.

"What?" She asked. Her voice was shaky, like she had been hurt a lot in such a short period of time. Then, he realized she probably had.

"Don't look at me like that," he pleaded.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm your mark," he replied.

"You _are_ my mark," she stated all emotion drained from her voice.

"You don't understand," Ward said desperately.

"What do I not understand?" Lindsey asked. "That you betrayed everyone. That you're a dirty agent and that I was stupid to trust you. No, I think that was pretty damn clear."

"I have my reasons," Ward replied.

"For what? Murdering all of those people. I didn't want to believe it when they told me, I thought they were lying to me. But you were the only one lying weren't you? You probably never even loved Skye."

"No, I did. I do," Ward said then he remembered he hadn't seen her in the ballroom. Fear washed over him. Garrett promised that she would be safe. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Lindsey said not dropping her gun.

"Why isn't she in the field?"

"She's- She's on leave."

"Why?"

"Because she's pregnant, Grant," Lindsey replied.

"What?" he demanded.

"She's pregnant."

"How?"

"You know how," Lindsey said.

Grant didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything. Instead he dropped his gun and ran a hand through his hair. Skye, his Skye was pregnant. He knew it was his, after he killed the fake Clairvoyant, they had sex in the detention room. It was stupid, they had broken up shortly after Lindsey had left, but he still loved her. And then she kissed him after he not so subtly asked her out at the Hub. It was almost enough for him to stay, but he had to leave.

"Please, Grant," Lindsey pleaded. "I don't want to shoot you. Just tell me why. T-tell me why you're with HYDRA."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Grant replied.

"Try me," Lindsey said.

"They have my brother," Ward relented. "They said that if I didn't join HYDRA that they would kill him."

Lindsey gasped. He didn't know.

"Grant," Lindsey replied lowering her gun. "Your brother is dead. He died in a car accident over four months ago."

Lindsey and Fitz had gone to his funeral. They thought that maybe they could find Ward there. When that failed the gave up on finding him. All of them started to accept that he wasn't the man that everyone thought he was.

A large explosion shook the building and she pieces of the ceiling started to rain down on them. They had to get out.

"Grant," Lindsey said. "You have a choice. You can either come with me and we can forget the last two months. Or I can shoot you."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes it is," Lindsey replied. That's when another explosion erupted, this time part of the ceiling fell in blocking Lindsey from Grant.

"Lindsey, get the hell out of there," Melinda demanded over the Comm.

She obeyed running back down the hallway and toward the front door. Lindsey heard a gunfire and could feel a shooting pain fly through her whole body as a bullet dug into her shoulder. She stumbled letting out a scream and brought her hand back to the wound. But she didn't stop running. She didn't stop until she was out of the building and even then her rapid pace continued.

Lindsey wasn't sure where she was going, London was a big city that was unfamiliar to her. And after she got out of the building, her Comm. went silent. After a minute, she knew where she needed to go.

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	3. Chapter 3: Not That Simple

**I OWN NOTHING!**

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After awhile, Lindsey came to a diner on the outskirts of London. A delicious sent wafted up to her nose making her stomach grumble. She had been here before, almost a year ago after a mission had gone wrong. It was a solo mission and God knew where Michael was. So she called the only person she could think of. Grant. He met her at the diner, no questions asked.

Maybe he remembered that too. Maybe he would come here. Lindsey walked in, the door dinging signaling her entrance. A man mopping the floor in the back smiled at her. She smiled back and sat at a booth in the back. Lindsey sat on the side facing the door.

A girl with big hair and a name tag that read 'Penny' in curly print walked toward her chomping on some gum. Lindsey skimmed over the menu for a minute which was pointless, she already knew what she was getting. The largest cup of coffee they had and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

The girl walked away and Lindsey sat quietly trying to keep her eyes open. Not only had a day of running from HYRDA made her hungry, but it had made her unbearably exhausted. After awhile, her coffee was slid in front of her as well as the steaming bowl of soup. Lindsey ignored the burning sensation filled her mouth as she gulped the bitter liquid down. In a matter of minutes, she had the cup drained and set it down. The woman refilled it giving her an odd look.

It wasn't until then that she took notice the soup sitting in front of her. Lindsey stirred the soup suddenly not hungry anymore.

The door dinged and Lindsey looked up hopefully. She watched Ward stalk into the diner and sit across from her at the booth. Lindsey slid the bowl of soup over to him. He had changed out of his tux and into a white v-neck, worn out jeans and a black leather jacket. When he moved, she could see his gun strapped to his hip.

"My Comm. is dead," Lindsey said lifting up her cup of coffee. After taking a sip, she continued. "I don't know where my team is. I don't even know if their alive."

"Are you hurt?" Ward asked looking her over critically. For the first time, he saw a new scar over her eye. It looked like it wasn't that old, like it had just started to heal.

"I was shot in the shoulder," Lindsey stated as if it were nothing. "I don't think it tore any muscle, but it hurts like hell."

"There's a motel six blocks away, do you think you could walk there?" Ward asked his eyebrows knitting together.

"I can get there no problem, but I'm going to need your jacket so people can't see the hole in my arm," Lindsey said laying down a few dollars to pay for her meal.

Ward nodded slipping off his jacket and handing it to her. She pulled it on and stood up. Grant chuckled quietly standing up himself; she was swimming in his jacket. He had forgotten how small she was, how young she really was.

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Lindsey was laying face down on the bed muffling her pained noises in the pillow. Grant was trying to be a gentle as he could, but there was no easy way to take out a bullet. Finally, he got it out and dropped it into the trashcan by the nightstand. After he stitched up the cut, he wiped his hands on his jeans and sat down on the other bed.

"So why is it not that simple," Lindsey asked sitting up.

"What?" Ward asked.

"This afternoon you said you couldn't come back because it wasn't that simple. So, tell me, Grant Ward, why is it not that simple?" Lindsey continued crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because they wouldn't let me come back," Grant huffed lying back on the bed and covering his eyes with his hands.

"Who's they," Lindsey asked sitting down next to him. "Coulson? He wants you to come back. Fury? He misses his best marksman."

"You don't get it," Ward said.

"Oh, this is about Skye," Lindsey decided aloud. "You don't think she would let you come back, or be with her again. You don't think that she would let you close to your baby."

"Sometimes I forget you're a level 6 agent famous for not only killing people, but reading them," Ward said removing his hands.

"I _was _a level 6 agent," Lindsey corrected standing up. "SHIELD's gone. I don't know what I am anymore."

She laid back down on her bed with an exasperated flop. Grant didn't say anything, he took part in SHIELD's demolition.

"And when Michael turned, I was ready to lay down on the floor of the control room and let him kill me," Lindsey said.

"Michael is with Hydra?" Grant asked incredulously.

"_Was_," Lindsey replied. "He _was_ with HYDRA."

"Was?" Ward asked looking over at her.

"I killed him at the Hub when Hydra 'came out of the darkness.' He tried to kill me and I fought back. Thankfully I didn't teach him everything I know."

"Wait, you were at the Hub?" Ward asked.

"Yeah, that's how I found Coulson and everyone else."

It was silent for a minute, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Well, for normal people it wouldn't have been, but these two were highly trained assassins. They analyzed every situation. It was a habit you couldn't turn off. Most of the time it saved their lives, but right now it was getting in the way.

"You know Skye would let you back if you told her why you turned," Lindsey stated finally. "She really misses you. They all miss you."

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At some point in the night, they had both fallen asleep. When the phone on the nightstand started ringing, both Lindsey and Ward shot up out of their beds. Lindsey fell onto the floor letting out a startled squeal. She recovered quickly and picked up the phone.

"Hello," she grumbled still laying on the floor.

"Lindsey?" Skye asked over the phone.

"Yeah, it's me," Lindsey replied. "What happened to Communication?"

"The line was compromised," Skye said. "Garret's men infiltrated the frequency."

"Great," Lindsey said. "Where are you guys?"

"A safe house," Skye replied. "Coulson is on his way to get you."

"How did you find me?" Lindsey asked.

"I turned you tracker back on," Skye replied as if it were nothing.

"I'm not even going to ask about that," Lindsey said.

"Um… Is… Is Grant with you?" Skye asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Lindsey replied looking over at the man in question. "Do you want to talk to him?"

"No," Skye stated before hanging up.

Lindsey put the phone back on the dock and let her head rest against the shag carpeting of the hotel floor. There was a throbbing pain in her arm that was making her whole body hurt really. She needed meds and probably some re-stitching.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lindsey and Grant looked at each other and each grabbed a gun. Unfortunately, there wasn't a peephole on the door. So with her gun drawn, Lindsey reached for the door knob and looked at Ward who was leaned against the wall with his gun ready. He nodded and she pulled open the door training her gun on the person standing in front of her.

"Put that away, Lindsey," Coulson said. "We don't have time to mess around. You too, Ward."

Phil stepped into the room and walked past Lindsey. He tossed his sunglasses on one of the beds and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Lindsey and Ward stared at him with blank expressions, their guns held slack in their hands.

"Get a move on," Coulson said.

The two agents stumbled around the room gathering their things. Lindsey pulled on her heels and Grant tossed her his jacket. Using the sleeve, she wiped down all of the surfaces cleaning their fingerprints. She pulled it on when she was done and looked in the mirror. Within seconds, she had her hair in a ballerina bun on top of her head.

"Let's go, I need a shower and pain meds," Lindsey said concealing all of her weapons. She walked out the door, the men close behind her.

"Can I drive?" Lindsey asked Coulson.

"No," he replied.

"You're no fun," she muttered climbing into the passenger seat.

"We don't have time for fun, Conway," Coulson said turning his key in the ignition.

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**I OWN NOTHING!**


	4. Chapter 4: Undercover Operations

Grant and Lindsey followed Coulson up the ramp and into the cargo hold of the Bus. They walked up the winding metal staircase and into the lounge. The team was standing there waiting for them. Fitz and Simmons, who had been sitting on the couch with notebooks in their laps, rose to their feet quickly letting their papers clatter to the floor. May stood with her arms crossed in the middle of the room with no expression on her face. Triplett stood behind the bar with a drink in his hand like he was mid-drink.

Then, there was Skye. She stood in the doorway with her arms hanging at her side. Her long brown hair was falling out of her messy ponytail and there were dark bags under her eyes. Skye's usually flat stomach had rounded into a large bump. Her eyes were glued to Ward, glazed over with unfalling tears. She looked terrified and overflowing with rage all at the same time. And her mouth was hung agape like she was trying to say something, but couldn't form the words.

"We need to get to work," Coulson said. Skye gulped nodding and turned on her heels leading them down the hallway.

They gathered in the conference room around the table they had pushed in front of the screen. Lindsey's tablet was laying on the table waiting. She typed in her pass-code and tapped it. The files she had displayed showed up on the screen.

"The floor is yours," she said to Coulson gripping the table with her hands.

"This is everything we have on Hydra," Coulson said. "We have a lot up until 1957, then it tampers off. There were a few incidents here and there, but nothing substantial. Well, until six months ago."

"We already know this," May said irritably.

"Would you please give me a minute," Coulson asked. "I'm getting to the good stuff."

May sighed leaning against the wall.

"Anyway," Coulson said looking at Lindsey.

"Oh," Lindsey said. "Was that my cue?"

"Yeah," Coulson said. "It was."

"Opps," Lindsey said tapping something on her tablet. A picture of a man came up on the screen. He looked like a normal dude with salt and pepper black hair, dark brown eyes and a slight tan probably from watching his kids' soccer games. But, Lindsey knew what he was capable of, she had been on clean-up duty from some of his 'business arrangements.' Besides, she had spent most of her life dealing with people like him; they looked normal, but they were deadly if you crossed them.

"This is Steven Darren. Fury believes he is the key to bringing down Hydra."

"What do we have on him?" Skye asked.

"Until Hydra showed its ugly face, he appeared as a normal man. Principal at South Waters high school in LA. Has two kids; a son who's a senior at the school and a daughter who is six. But, we've seen him at numerous Hydra attacks. Luckily, he's never seen us," Triplett said.

"Any input, Ward," May asked.

"He's high-up in Hydra," Ward said crossing his arms over his chest. "The wildcard. He's more secretive than he is dangerous."

No one spoke after Ward finished. They were waiting for Coulson to say something, to spew out an unconventional plan that was risky and possibly insane. But he didn't. It looked like he was making this one up on the spot.

"Well," Lindsey asked after a few minutes.

"I've got nothing," Coulson sighed.

"Good," May said. "I've got one."

"Care to enlighten us," Triplett asked.

"We're going to steal the school," May said.

"She's officially lost it," Leo muttered.

"No offense, but we cannot possibly steal a school," Simmons agreed.

"No," Lindsey said letting go of the edge of the table. "It's a great plan."

"What?" Simmons asked.

"We don't physically steal the school," Coulson said.

"We infiltrate it," Triplett added.

"We go in undercover and run an operation from the inside," Lindsey explained.

"So how Ward worked Hydra from inside of SHIELD?" Skye spat bitterly. Her word accomplished what they were meant to, hut Grant. But he wasn't sure what part hurt more, the fact that it was true or the fact that she called him Ward and not Grant. But, he deserved it and he knew it. Actually, he deserved worse, no matter what his reasons were. Agents were supposed to be strong and loyal to their agency no matter what was being threatened. Failure to do so would result in stripping of title and incarceration for the remainder of said agent's life.

"Skye," May scolded.

"What?" Skye asked. "Are you seriously defending him? He killed agent Hand and countless other agents. He betrayed us, lead us all on and we trusted him."

Then, there were mini fights breaking out around Lindsey and she stood there silently.

"Guys," she called. No one heard her.

"You have no idea why I did what I did," Grant shouted back at Skye.

"There is nothing you could ever say to make me forgive you," Skye fired back.

"Guys," she repeated.

Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose. Lindsey put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Enough," she shouted. "I'm the only teenager in the room and I find hilarious that I'm the only one in her not acting like one."

No one said anything, just watched her.

"I don't give a shit about what happened in the last six months, you are a team. You need to start acting like one or we're never going to bring down Hydra. We are going to end up like every other loyal SHIELD agent that fought back. And I did not come this far to die like they did. Now, you're all going to get the hell over yourselves and work together. This isn't a job anymore, we're doing this because we don't know what else to do. This is us defending the world that's hanging in the balance."

Again, no one said anything. Lindsey thought maybe they had suddenly lost the ability to form words. They looked disbelievingly at her, like they were in shock that those words came out of her mouth.

"What?" Lindsey asked. "Just because I can kill someone sixty-two different ways with a soup spoon doesn't mean I can't give 'get your shit together talks'."

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"Why did I agree to this," Lindsey grumbled lugging an equipment bag into the house. It was another safe house on a farm in LA. It was in range of the school district, but reclusive enough that they wouldn't raise suspicion.

"Because you didn't know what you were getting into," Triplett said walking up beside her.

He wasn't wrong, Lindsey didn't know that she would actually have to _go _to the school. Nor did she know that she would have to get to Steven Darren's son. Triplett would be the new gym teacher. Ward would be the new football coach. Fitz would be the technology teacher. Simmons would be a substitute teacher for the chemistry teacher who just so happened to be on maternity leave. Coulson would act as Lindsey's father. May would act as her mother, which meant PTA member soccer mom. Or in this case, Cheer mom. And Skye would be handling the operation from the safe house.

"Why do I have to go back to high school, I got my GED when I was fifteen," Lindsey whined dropping the bag on the table in the kitchen.

"Because," May cut in unloading a box of dishes into a cabinet. "Like you said, you are the only teenager here."

"Next time I go into monologue mode, shoot me," Lindsey said unzipping the bag.

"You have cheer tryouts in an hour," May reminded.

"What do I even wear to cheer tryouts?" Lindsey asked.

"Sexy athletic clothes," Triplett said unloading a bag of tech onto the kitchen table.

Everyone stared at him with quizzical glances.

"What?" He asked. "I was a football player in high school."

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They'd been on this operation for a month and nothing. Lindsey was struggling to play the peppy cheerleader and trying to catch the eye of Lucas Darren. He was apparently one of the most popular football players in the school with and ego that rivaled Tony Stark's. But, she had easily caught the attention of almost every other football not to mention the rest of the male population in the school. But Lucas Darren was a tough nut to crack which pissed her off more than anything.

Fortunately, his best friend, David Ryder, was falling head over heels for her. In fact, he was her date to Prom in two weeks. That was, if this operation lasted that long. The part that Lindsey hated the most was that it would most likely last that long. She just wanted to climb on the Bus and let May fly her away from high school. Lindsey wasn't sure what was worse, dealing with normal people or being an agent of a dead agency.

Lindsey and a bunch of other cheerleaders had gone to the mall on Friday night to buy dresses for the dance. Though she thought it was stupid, she didn't voice her opinion. Cheerleaders were supposed to love school dances, supposed to love going shopping. So she went along and bought a dress.

Thank the lord it wasn't pink or so long she would trip over it. Instead, she had picked a simple dress. It had a black bodice with a sweat heart neck line and a long turquoise skirt with a slit along the side that showed her dress. She could easily hide weapons in the dress and with a few touches of makeup could easily hide her tattoos and the most offensive scars.

Skye told her that she should enjoy Prom, it was her one chance to be a normal eighteen year old for one night. May told her that she needed to keep her guard up even if Coulson and May had volunteered to chaperone the dance. So had Ward and Triplett.


	5. Chapter 5: Nightmares and Security

**I OWN NOTHING!**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

This dream –no, it was a nightmare –kept plaguing Lindsey's sleep. The fact that she had nightmares wasn't a new concept, that was a side effect of her line of work. Even this dream wasn't a new development, she had this same dream constantly in the months following Shannon's and Evens' death at the Clan's warehouse. But with time it went away. It healed like the bullet wound she received that night. There was a scar and she could still see it in the back of her mind, but the pain had dulled.

But in the last few weeks, it had come back. Well, a new variation. The last few weeks she woke up screaming from it. Not because it was unexpected, but because she knew what was going to happen and the scene never changed. The past doesn't change and that's all she saw when her eyelids fluttered closed. The past. The night in the warehouse that she lost her two teammates. All she saw though was Shannon and Evens laying on the floor swimming in a pool of their own crimson blood. Blood. The only thing she couldn't get out of her mind. Spilling onto the floor, smudged on their ghostly pale skin and worst of all, staining her hands.

Now, Michael joined the body count. But they weren't dying this time. Instead they were threatening her life. They had all three turned, betrayed her. Her team was infested with Hydra. That was the one thing she truly feared more than losing the battle. That all along they had been Hydra and she died thinking they were heroes when they really weren't. That they deserved to die there and they weren't the people she so desperately wanted to believe they were.

Four guns held in four hands. One a shaky grip, the one who stood alone. The odds were against her, but she was Lindsey Conway. She never missed and she never, _ever_ cowered away from a challenge even if death was imminent. So she stood her ground, holding her gun trained on them. Just because she was brave didn't mean she wasn't scared beyond her wits. In fact, terror burned in her eyes.

"Heil Hydra," they said in perfect, evil sync.

Four fingers were on four triggers, but only one fired. The leader; Shannon. She was the first of three to shoot, every night. And just like every other night, the bullet lodged into Lindsey's right shoulder. She hissed in pain, but held her stance.

With tears in her eyes, she fired three times rapidly. Each bullet hit its intended mark, but that wasn't a shock. She never missed, even when she was injured.

Michael was the last one to crumble to the ground. Despite her better judgment, Lindsey walked toward the bodies lying on the ground.

"Heil Hydra," Michael rasped firing her gun. Once, twice, three times. All three bullets buried in her stomach eliciting a blood curling scream.

That's usually when she woke up screaming the same scream she did in her dream. It was only a matter of seconds before the team came pouring into her room all of them armed and ready to kill an intruder. Ward stumbled in first holding a gun, followed closely by May. Skye was the last one to run into the room. They all saw a fear stricken Lindsey sitting up in her bed inhaling ragged breaths. But no threat. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened.

"I've got this one," Skye said walking with socked feet across the room.

The rest of the team slowly dragged their feet back to bed. She pulled back the covers and climbed into the bed next to the shaking girl. Lindsey leaned her body against the older woman. Skye ran her fingers through Lindsey's matted blonde hair which for some reason, calmed Lindsey down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Skye asked after Lindsey's breathing had evened out and her body was no longer shuddering.

"Do you think my whole team was Hydra?" Lindsey asked her voice small and unsure. Nothing like the legendary Lindsey Conway. That was the thing that most people forgot about agents, they weren't superhuman. Just average people with a dangerous job. People who might seem like emotionless robots, but had a breaking point. Got scared and got hurt. Bled red blood like everyone else and felt human emotions.

"Is that what your dream was about?" Skye asked.

"I've been having it a lot lately," Lindsey starts We're back in the warehouse in LA. But instead of clan-members standing with their guns pointed at me, my team is. They say 'Heil Hydra' and then Shannon shoots me in the shoulder. I don't want to kill them, but I close my eyes and I shoot. I fire three bullets and when I open my eyes again they crumble to the floor. I walk over to their bodies and Michael mutters 'Heil Hydra' and shoots me in the stomach. I usually wake up before I hit the ground."

"Do you think they were Hydra?" Skye asked.

"I don't want to believe it, but part of me can't help wandering. Michael was Hydra, it wouldn't be out of the question if they were too," Lindsey said. "They weren't good people and I already knew that, but you can't be a good person in our line of work."

Skye didn't say anything, just let her hands mechanically comb through her hair. She didn't know it, but this action was slowly lulling the younger girl to sleep. Also, she was unaware that someone was standing in the hallway watching.

Grant couldn't help it. So he peaked through the crack of the bedroom door watching this exchange. She would be a great mother, Ward thought.

Skye looked down at Lindsey realizing her breathing had leveled into a slow pattern. She saw her eyelids had closed and carefully climbed out of the bed. Gently, she pulled the blankets back up to Lindsey's chin. Instinctively, she brushed the hair off of her face and kissed her forehead.

Skye tiptoed out of the room and right into a tall wall of muscle.

"Were you watching that?" Skye whispered to him crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know you're going to be a great mom, Skye," he said his lips twitching up at the corners forming a small smile.

Exasperated, Skye ignored him and tried to push past him, but he stepped in her way.

"Why won't you let me talk to you?" He asked.

"You know why," Skye stated.

"You haven't forgiven me yet?" Ward asked. "Everyone else has."

"I thought you were dead, Grant," Skye whispered. "I thought that Garret killed you. I didn't want to believe it, but I was starting to. Then, we saw you in Moscow with Garret a month after you disappeared. And I wished that you had died or that Quinn had killed me so I would still believe that you were a good man. But, then I found out I was pregnant with _your _baby. You know what I wanted to do?"

"What?" Ward asked.

"I wanted to abort it," Skye whisper-yelled. "I didn't want to have a monster's baby."

"Then why didn't you?" Ward asked trying to mask the pain her was feeling. _She wanted to kill their baby?_

"Because Lindsey found the test and talked me out of it. Told me that I couldn't kill a baby just because the father was a traitor. So she went with me to the doctor and I saw a picture of the ultrasound. After that, I hated myself for ever wanting to kill my baby. It was beautiful and it was mine."

"It's my baby too," Ward pleaded.

"No," Skye said.

"Yes it is," Ward stated. "That baby growing inside of you, _we_ made it. And I might've been a traitor, but I love you. I joined Hydra because Garrett threatened to kill my brother if I didn't join."

Grant didn't mean to say that last part, but he didn't regret it. But Skye wasn't expecting that. She was expecting some cliché speech about how he joined Hydra because he was a broken man that had nothing to lose. And that how she came along and she changed him. She was not ready to hear that. She figured his brother had died and that was why he was broken. Come to find out, his brother wasn't dead.

"If he threatened to kill your brother, why'd you come back," Skye asked quizzically.

"Because when I talked to Lindsey at the ball, she told me. My brother had died in a car accident two months after Hydra took over. So I left. I met Lindsey at a diner I hoped she would be at and she was."

"Wait," Skye said putting up her hand. "Why did you think she would be at the diner?"

"Last year, she had gone on a solo mission that was based in London. It went bad and she wasn't supposed to contact SHIELD ever. She called me on a phone she had stashed in the couch cushions of the Bus before she left. I was the one to pick it up and I met her there. Got her cleaned up and she went back to work."

"She called last year and you didn't bother to tell any of us?" Skye demanded.

God, he really couldn't avoid a fight no matter how hard he tried. From where he was standing, it looked like Skye wanted to yell at about something.

"She made me swear not to tell anyone," Grant said. "She didn't want you guys to worry."

"Of course we were going to worry," Skye said her voice calming down. "She's a kid, she needs someone to worry about her."

She hadn't realized it, but as she spoke she had looked through the doorway. Her eyes found Lindsey sleeping in her bed curled up in a ball. Upon looking at her, you wouldn't have been able to tell that she had woken up not fifteen minutes ago screaming bloody murder.

"No," Grant said. "She can take care of herself, she's stronger than most people her age."

"I don't like to think about that," Skye said.

Her life hadn't been easy, but Lindsey's made hers look like a piece of cake. Skye hated thinking about the scars painting her body because she always wound up thinking about how she got them. What kind of blade cut that one, how many stitches was that one, and why she didn't give up after that one. "And just because she doesn't need someone to look out for her doesn't mean she can't have one."

Ward couldn't help himself, which was a common ordeal he had when dealing with anything related to Skye. He stepped toward her in one long bound and threaded his fingers through her hair. Gently, he bent his neck and placed his lips against hers. It had been almost eight months since they had kissed. Eight long months of pain and blood spill and lies.

Skye melted under his touch allowing him to control her for a minute. But that minute, like every other great thing in his life, passed. She pulled away from him and before he could blink her hand was connecting with his cheek. His head jerked to the side upon impact and he could feel a red hand imprinted on the side of his face. He should've been ready for that.

Then, she surprised him. She rose to her tiptoes and reconnected their lips. One of Skye's hands pressed against his chest and the other went to the base of his hairline and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. Grant cupped her face gently with one hand and let the other rest on her hip.

Maybe the last few months had been nothing but hell, it was all okay. They were safe in each others arms. Even if that sense of security was most likely short lived, they were going to savor it while it lasted.


	6. Chapter 6: Little Sentiments

**I OWN NOTHING!**

Lindsey slid open the door leaving small smudges from her fingertips on the mirror on the door. She dug through piles of shoes, throwing them carelessly over her shoulder. Blindly, she fished around until she found what she was looking for. She pulled it out and looked at it carefully, almost like it was a bomb.

But it wasn't a bomb. Just an old shoe box she had painted black. With steady hands, Lindsey brushed the dust collected on the top off before lifting the lid. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the contents. It had been awhile since she opened it, over a year maybe.

Two pictures concealed in a stained envelope. One of her and Michael and one of her whole team. Timidly, Lindsey grabbed the picture of her and Michael. It was taken probably three years prior when they were on base. Their bodies were completely tangled together on his bed. Shannon had caught this moment and it's entire intimacy in a single shot.

Now, Lindsey wandered if he was faking it. If that the entire time they had been together he didn't care. That she was nothing more than his cover. To him, she was only Agent 72. Not Lindsey Conway or even Lindsey Condor. Agent 72. Level six agent with a specific skill set and a secret weapon. Dangerous. A weapon.

And that's when the anger boiled in her stomach. Lindsey had been naïve and let him trick her. She hated herself for it. This hatred, not only for herself, but for Michael outweighed the pain of betrayal. Luckily, it also outweighed how she felt for him. Made her forget that she loved him. Well, used to love him.

Blinking tears out of her eyes, she dropped the picture and grabbed the other one. Lindsey didn't remember where they had gone or what the mission had been. She did run her hand over the faint pink line raised up on her arm. One hundred and nine stitches. A dagger had slit down her arm. They were all beaten and bloodied from that mission, but as far as she remembered, the mark had been taken down.

Again, she disregarded the photo and reached into the box. This time, she produced a leather-bound notebook with pages filled with encounters of missions and haunting memories of her past. It helped, at least she thought it did. Kept the blood from dripping into her dreams. Well, minimized it.

Lindsey ran her fingers over the cover and nimbly untied the strings holding it closed. In Shannon's perfect cursive, a note had been scribbled on the first page.

'Happy Birthday, Lindsey!

I've watched you carefully over the last year

and from what I have observed, you are a very

practical girl. So, I wanted to get you a practical present.

I've also noticed that you struggle

with your past. This present is not only practical,

but I think it could help you sort out how you

feel about your past.

I hope this helps!

Love,

Shannon

Lindsey flipped through the pages not really reading the words she had written. It felt like a lifetime ago; maybe it was in a sense, she wasn't the same girl she was when she wrote those thoughts.

Even if she was a different girl, Lindsey still had one thing from her family that she couldn't let go of. Her copy of _Black Beauty_. When she had left the Clan, she had stolen it out of her father's office. It was really her mother's, the only thing she had left of her mom. Other than a few scars and the bar code brand, that book was the only evidence she had that she had actually been apart of the Clan.

Then, the thing she was actually looking for. Shannon's necklace. It was a golden rind around a blooming crystal flower dangling on a golden chain. The necklace was not practical in anyway and could in no way help her. Well, not with work, but it would be for Prom.

Lindsey had stolen it from Shannon's room at HQ before they had cleaned it out following her death. It was too special, too important to end up in a disguise closet or turned into some kind of tech. She knew it was something from Shannon's life before SHIELD and she had to save it. Lindsey wasn't a sentimental person, but she needed something to hold on to. She had Evens' black hoodie hanging in her closet too. She wore it sometimes when she missed his sarcasm. Even if his musty scent had long since faded. If she clenched her eyes shut and curled up in a small enough ball, she could almost imagine that it was Evens' holding her. That his brotherly embrace was what she was enveloped in and not a worn out sweatshirt. It helped, even if just a little. Made moving on with life just a little bit easier.

Lindsey had hidden the necklace in a metal tin that had once held mints. She closed her eyes opening the tin and she could smell stale peppermint before she saw the necklace. Swallowing tears, Lindsey pulled out the necklace and dropped it biting her lip. The charm twirled on the chain catching the light. It was beautiful, it was simple, and though it came from an agent, it was normal.

"Lindsey?" May asked from the doorway.

Nearly jumping a foot in the air, Lindsey let out a soft squeak spilling the contents of the box all over the floor.

"Yeah?" Lindsey asked scrambling to put the pictures and books back in the box.

"You need to start getting ready for the dance," May said pushing open the doorway.

"Are Simmons and Skye waiting outside the door?" Lindsey asked burying the box under her shoes.

"How did you know?" Simmons asked stepping into the room followed by Skye.

"I could practically _feel_ you excitement," Lindsey said smirking.

"Well, lets get ready," Skye said.

"Lucas is going to be here in three hours," Jemma added.

"How long do you guys think it will take me to get ready?" Lindsey asked sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"You need to get in the shower and use this," Skye said tossing her a bottle of cherry-blossom shampoo.

"It'll make your hair smell nicer and look blonder," Skye continued seeing Lindsey's quizzical stare on the small bottle in her hand.


	7. Chapter 7: Ticking Clocks

**I OWN NOTHING!**

"Ladies and gentlemen," Skye announced into a wooden spoon from the kitchen. "Introducing the new Lindsey Conway. Drum roll please."

The team patted on their laps smiling a little. Slowly, Lindsey started down the stairs with a smile on her face. Saying she was beautiful was an understatement, she was always beautiful, but it was different. She had on her dress with the teal skirt and the black bodice, her blond hair had been pulled into a ballerina bun with a few pieces of curled hair framing her face, Shannon's flower necklace was around her neck, she had on silver strappy heels, there was a sparkly bracelet around her wrist with a tracer wire wound through the beading, she had diamond studs in her ears and light makeup on her face. Though you couldn't see it, she had a gun and extra mags strapped to her inner thigh. A dagger in her bra with vials of poison and a comm. in her ear.

"Wow," Leo gaped.

"What?" Lindsey asked blushing.

"You look amazing," Grant said.

"Really?" Lindsey asked incredulously.

"Really," Triplett said.

"I hate to break this up and stuff, but David is going to be here soon. Ward, Triplett, Simmons and Fitz can't be here when he gets here," Coulson said.

They all nodded and get ready to leave.

"Wait," Lindsey said grabbing her camera off of the end table. "Can I take a picture with everyone?"

Coulson agreed and took the camera from her. Skye, Simmons and Lindsey lined up first. Lindsey stood between the two older girls. They wrapped their arms around each other and smiled as Coulson snapped the picture.

Then, Leo stepped behind her wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Lindsey leaned into him closing her eyes.

Then, Triplett wrapped his arm around her shoulder and hers snaked around his waist. Both smiled wide grins. After the picture was taken, he pressed a kiss to her temple.

May and Coulson wrapped their arms around her sandwiching her in a hug. The intimacy surprised everyone, but they took the picture anyway. It looked very family-portrait, but it wasn't at all posed.

Finally, there was Grant. He didn't even ask permission, but lifted her up bridal style. Coulson got the picture and looking at it later, you could see them both smiling big smiles. Honestly, they were the only real smiles either of them had shown in awhile.

"Perfect," Melinda smiled looking over Coulson's shoulder.

Phil attached the camera to the tri-pod and set the timer. They all gathered in front of the stairs bunching close together. Arms wrapped around shoulders holding others close. They looked like a family. It wasn't that any of them actually looked related, but it was the way they stood. So close to each other, so comfortable with each other.

David knocked on the door and he could hear people on the other side talking. He dragged a hand through his curly brown hair and waited for someone to open the door. An Asian woman did finally. She looked like she was in her late thirties, early forties maybe. There was a soft smile on her face that was barely welcoming.

"You must be David," she said. "I'm Lindsey's mom."

Melinda looked over David quizzically. He had a mop of curly brown hair and big brown eyes. His skin was tanned and a there was a handful of freckles dusted across his nose. David's features were well defined and he was tall. His frame was impressive and muscular. He looked strong and sturdy, but at the same time like he couldn't hurt a fly. That made May squirm, those were the most dangerous people.

Lindsey's mom? This woman didn't look anything like Lindsey. A man walked into the room and stood behind Lindsey's mother with his arms crossed over his chest.

David stood awkwardly with his arms shoved in the pockets of his pants. Both adults were staring him down with cold, hard stares. Thankfully, Lindsey came around the corner and started down the stairs.

"David," she smiled. "I see you've met my parents."

"Yeah," David said.

"Let's take some pictures," Lindsey's mother suggested.

"Good idea," Lindsey said.

She smiled at David and grabbed his hand leading him to the fireplace. Her father stood in front of them snapping pictures while her mother posed them. After what felt like an eternity later, Lindsey finally stepped in.

"Mom," she said irritably. "I think that's enough."

"Okay," the older woman replied.

David and Lindsey walked out the front door. He opened the car door for her and she climbed in smiling.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Lindsey whispered into David's ear.

He nodded and let go of her hand. Lindsey walked out of the gym nodding to Ward who was standing by the punch bowl. Once she was in the hallway, she clicked on her comm. and pulled the hard-drive out of her bra.

"Lindsey," Skye asked over the comm.

"On my way down the hallway," Lindsey said walking into the bathroom. "I need you to disable the security cameras."

Lindsey pulled open the paper towel dispenser and grabbed the laptop Simmons had stashed in there for her. Before doing anything else, she locked the door. She logged in and started typing furiously.

"Are you cameras installed yet?" Skye asked.

"Yeah," Lindsey replied. "I put them in during practice."

"Alright," Skye said. "The system is down, you have fifteen minutes before they automatically reset."

"I only need ten," Lindsey said opening the necessary files on her phone. She shoved the computer back in the paper towel dispenser and walked out of the door.

"Grant," Lindsey said. "Make sure I'm the only one in the west wing. I sent the video feeds to your phone."

"On it," he replied.

Lindsey sprinted down the hallway her dress bunched up in her hands. She needed to get into Mr. Darren's office and the clock was ticking.

**I apologize for the poor quality of this chapter. **


	8. Chapter 8: Personal Records

Lindsey crouched in front of the big wooden door pulling a slip out of her hair. With nimble fingers, Lindsey picked the lock. In a matter of seconds, the door swung open and she was back on her feet walking into the office.

"I'm in," Lindsey said plugging the hard drive into the computer on the desk.

"I think that's your new personal record," Triplett said over the comm.

Lindsey pulled her phone out of the holster strapped to her leg and placed it next to the hard drive on the desk and set to work on uncovering files. She was getting frustrated, the only thing out of place that she could find was an empty Krispy Kreme donut box and a box of condemns that Lindsey didn't want to think about. Then, she found it. a manila folder labeled 'Hydra' in big red letters.

"You know, if I was working in a secret terrorist organization, I wouldn't put the file in a file cabinet that anyone can access. Especially if it's labeled Hydra in big letters," Lindsey said.

"Hun, most people don't have access to it," Skye said over the comm.

"Their confidential for a reason," Simmons added.

"You have access to them because you broke into his office and broke the lock on the filing cabinet," Triplett reminded.

"What's in the file, Conway?" May demanded irritably.

"I'm getting to that," Lindsey said dropping the file on the desk. "Geesh."

Lindsey produced a flashlight from somewhere inside of her dress and placed it between her teeth. Brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes and tucking it behind her ear, she rummaged through the documents and pictures. They all had one thing in common; Lindsey.

"Holy shit," she whispered taking pictures of everything in the file.

"What?" Coulson and Grant asked simultaneously.

"Everything in this file is about me," Lindsey stated closing the folder and placing it back in the drawer.

"What do you mean?" Skye asked.

"You'll see," Lindsey said. "I'm sending it to you now."

"How could it possibly be only about you?" Fitz asked.

"I don't know," Lindsey replied. "It's bigger than my SHIELD file and that had every bit of Intel that we ever had on the Clan.

"Lindsey," Grant panicked. "You've got company."

"Shit," Lindsey muttered copying the files. The hard drive was taking too long, she was going to need to send it straight to the Bus. "How much time do I have?"

"Thirty seconds at the most," Grant replied.

Lindsey typed faster, her brow knitting together in concentration. Booming footsteps filled the hallway and they were getting closer. And then there were six gunshots that made Lindsey flinch.

"Sent," Lindsey said. "We're in the clear."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," someone said from the doorway.

Startled, Lindsey turned to see who it was. David. He was standing mere feet form her with a gun trained on her. Three other football players stood behind him with guns pointing at her.

She felt stupid, she should've known. He was too good to be true. Just another Hydra head put in place to monitor her.

"Really, David?" Lindsey asked. "You're Hydra."

"Really, Lindsey?" David mocked a smug grin forming on his lips. Lindsey couldn't believe she had wanted to kiss those same lips not fifteen minutes ago. "You're SHIELD?"

"No," Lindsey stated blankly.

"No?" David asked.

"No," Lindsey repeated walking slowly toward him. "SHIELD is kind of disbanded if you hadn't noticed. All agents are either dead, missing, wanted fugitives or Hydra."

"Then, what are you?"

"Lindsey Marie Conway," she smiled devilishly.

"And I'm David Ryder," David said.

"No, he's not," Skye said over the comm. "He's Daniel Johnson, rouge SHIELD agent. Killed his whole team when he was thirteen and SHIELD has been tracing him ever since. David Ryder died when he was three in a lake."

"No," Lindsey stated crossing her arms over her chest. "You're not David Ryder; David Ryder died when he was three. You're Daniel Johnson."

"And how do you know that?" He asked panic spreading on his face. It wasn't obvious panic, though. Lindsey could see it, the twitch of his eyebrow.

"A magician never reveals their secret."

And that was the last thing she said before David fired his gun. It was a night-night gun, Lindsey decided as she fell backward. She didn't feel pain, just darkness enveloping her in a cold embrace. She couldn't fight it, not even if she had tried.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Where the hell is she?" Coulson demanded.

"I don't know," Skye panicked pounding on the keys of her laptop. "Her tracker bracelet is disconnected and her tracker from the Clan is jammed."

"What do you mean it is jammed?" Simmons shouted.

"It means that I can read her vitals, which are stable by the way, but I can't access her location. Someone is interfering with the coordinates," Skye said.

"Doesn't that mean someone knew about her tracker?" Ward asked.

"Yes," Skye said. "Which makes sense because everything in that file was about her and there were thirteen encrypted files about her on Steven Darren's computer. One was about her team, one was about Michael and was about our team."

"Ward," Coulson asked. "Why would they need so much information on a teenage girl?"

"Sir, she's Agent 72, an asset to SHIELD and Sitwell recruited her for a reason. She's strong and lethal which means she'd be a good weapon," Ward replied.

"That's why Michael was on her team," Simmons added.

"They figured that if he got close enough, he could persuade Lindsey to join Hydra," Leo continued.

"Skye, find out who else was put in place to recruit Lindsey," Coulson demanded.

"You got it, AC," Skye replied setting to work.

"Let's find Lindsey," Melinda said.

They were going to find Lindsey, no matter what the cost.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**I OWN NOTHING! Please review! **


	9. Chapter 9: Manipulation

Lindsey awoke to a shooting pain flooding her skull. It felt like someone was driving a sledge hammer through her head. After the world around her stopped spinning, she took in her surroundings. She was tied to a wobbly metal folding chair with a fraying rope that cut into her wrists and ankles. The room she was in was dark and cold. Water dripped from the pipes running along the ceiling and left trails down the cement walls. A video camera hung from the ceiling in the corner with a red light flickering on it. Someone was recording her. On the wall she was facing, there was a one way window. Whoever was standing on the other side would probably be in the room soon enough. A single bulb hanging from a cord above her head was the only source of light in the room. Lindsey to know how many rats were lurking in the shadows.

"Yo," Lindsey hollered. Her throat was dry and scratchy, screaming out for a drink of water.

She squirmed a little in her chair realizing that she was still in her dress and that she was entirely unarmed. Lindsey did not want to think about the fact that whoever removed her weapons had to have violated her in several ways. Someone had removed her shoes and she could feel her blonde hair had fallen mostly out of the bun in wisps of frizzy tangles.

A man walked through the door closing it behind him. It didn't take any time for Lindsey to recognize him. Agent John Garrett. A monster in a man's body. The slimy snake that turned Grant into a robot and a murderer.

There was a gun on his hip and she could see a dagger sticking out of his boot. He smiled smugly at her, his eyes twinkling devilishly. Agent Lindsey Conway was sitting in front of him, totally vulnerable and unable to defend herself.

"Well," Garret said. "Sleeping beauty awakens."

"Let's cut to the chase, Garrett," Lindsey stated. "What do you want with me?

"You're an asset, Conway," he replied. "An asset I plan to acknowledge."

"Please tell me that's not some twisted code for 'have sex with me," she said.

"No," Garrett started.

"Then why did you take me and not kill me?" Lindsey interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me," Garrett hissed backhanding her.

A crying pain flew through her cheek as her head jerked to the side. Lindsey could taste warm, metallic blood in her mouth. She spat the blood on his shoes which earned her a punch in the stomach and another to the jaw. Lindsey just smirked at him with her busted lip and already bruising cheek.

"Now," Garrett sighed. "Let's get back on topic."  
Lindsey didn't say anything, just sat there glowering at him.

"I'm sure that you're smart enough to know that Agent Sitwell elected to recruit you for Hydra. And you're probably aware that Michael was Hydra as well."

"I shot him for a reason," Lindsey muttered.

"You shot him fourteen times," Garrett stated. "Why?"

"He's a traitor, I would do it to you and Sitwell in a heartbeat," Lindsey threatened. "I don't take kindly to traitorous snakes."

"But are we really traitors?" Garrett asked.

"Yeah," Lindsey said. "You are traitors. You kill your co-workers and friends and innocent people for what? Peace? You don't know one thing about peace, not if you think it comes from murdering people who don't go along with your system."

"Freedom and peace have a cost," Garrett replied. "Rogers said so himself."

Lindsey snorted looking away from the man standing in front of her. He wasn't just crazy, he was a full blown psychopath. Somehow in his twisted mind he had found a way to justify what he was doing.

"I'm sure you want to know why you are of value to us," Garrett said. When Lindsey just stared at him blankly, he continued. "Like I said, you're an asset."

"No, I'm SHIELD's weapon and that threatens your little plot for world domination."

"Isn't that why you're with SHIELD anyway?" Garrett asked beginning to pace around her. "They would rather have you as an ally than an enemy."

"Coulson and Sitwell _both_ recruited me," Lindsey said. "I think you know why. I'm valuable."

"Really? According to your SHIELD file you're good at making enemies, but suck at making friends, are unstable, dangerous, impossible to work with, moody, unpredictable, moody and manipulative."

"And that's why you're all interested in me," Lindsey said. "I'm like Grant; I'm a _weapon._"

Lindsey smiled smugly batting her eyelashes. She was doing what she did best; manipulate. Garrett had said it himself, she was manipulative. Among other things. She was vindictive, decisive and she was very unpredictable. That was what made her so good at her job, but so terrible at anything that didn't involve lying, cheating or killing.

Maybe the odds weren't in her favor anymore, she could twist them so they were. Or at least stall until she thought of something. Maybe if she bought enough time, the team would be able to find her. They clearly needed her for something, which meant they wouldn't kill her. Not until she served her purpose. The people working for Hydra might've been crazy, but they weren't stupid. They had gone through the same training she had, learned the same strategies she did.

Whoever _they _were. No one really knew who was actually loyal to SHIELD or who was a traitor. For all she knew one of her trainers from the academy was watching her. Hell, one of her contacts could be standing on the other side of the glass. She didn't know and that terrified her. She didn't know which meant she was in control. And to Lindsey, that was not okay.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Skye," Coulson said walking into the conference room. She had set up shop in there in the last few days. "Update."

"I've almost got the security code on her Clan tracker cracked," she said taking a sip from the cup of soda sitting next to her on the table.

"How much time will that take?"

"Done," Skye said. "It might take a few hours for her exact coordinates to come in."

"We might not have a few hours," Coulson said. "We don't know how much longer Lindsey has before they kill her."

"Sir," Grant said from the doorway. "They didn't kill her on sight so she's of value to them and she's smart. Lindsey will be able to stall them."

"But for how long? She's been missing almost a week."

Had it only been a week? To Grant it had felt like it had been much longer.

The team hadn't seen him like this since Skye was in the coma. It was sleepless night after sleepless night for him. How could he rest until Lindsey was found? Not that he could've found peaceful sleep if he had tried. His dreams were haunted by all the things they could possibly be doing to her. So most nights, he snuck down to the cargo hold and took out everything he was feeling on the punching bag. Fear, anger, anxiety. All pummeled into the bag hanging from the ceiling.


	10. Chapter 10: Blood in Brazil

"I found her," Skye exclaimed bursting through the door to the lounge.

"Where is she?" Coulson asked rising to his feet.

"She's in Brazil," Skye replied. "On the old SHIELD base that's been vacant for over thirty years."

"It's clearly not as vacant as we thought," May said.

"Pack up everything," Coulson instructed. "We're going to Brazil."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lindsey could hear angry shouts and gun fire growing closer. That was kind of a regular appearance Lindsey had discovered in her time here. Other agencies besides SHIELD wanted Hydra to fall as well. They were just all going about it the wrong way.

A bullet pinged against the metal door keeping her contained in her cell. Lindsey didn't move, though, didn't have the strength to. Pain pulsed through her body and she was curled up on the floor. A gun was fired just outside the door, but she didn't flinch. Maybe they would kill her, put her out of her misery.

Someone burst through the door and weakly, Lindsey turned to face them. Fitz. His brow knitted together as he pocketed his gun. In a few long strides, he was across the room and crouching next to the girl huddled in a heap on the icy cement floor. Her body was covered in cuts, dried blood and bruises. Pain was etched on her features and he could tell she was slipping.

"Stay with me darling," he said lifting her up gently.

Lindsey moaned a response he couldn't quite make out and rested her head on his chest. She inhaled deeply taking in his sweet, musky scent letting her body relax in the familiarity.

"I've got her," Fitz said over the comm.

He ran down the winding corridors trying his hardest not to move Lindsey too much. Despite these attempts, every step sent pain stabbing through her body. After awhile, she could hear another set of footsteps fall in line with Leo's . Lindsey didn't bother to shift to see who it was, even the slightest movements caused more pain than she was already feeling.

Her eyes drooped and she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness. Lindsey didn't have the strength to fight it and that didn't matter to her anymore. Even though she knew that she would probably die if she let the warm embrace of darkness claim her.

Vaguely, she could feel her body being passes to someone else. Someone taller and with more muscle. Concerned brown eyes met her foggy gaze. Grant. He was carrying her now. Lindsey nestled her body into his chiseled muscles.

"It hurts," Lindsey moaned.

"I know, Linds," Grant replied. "We're almost there, just hold on a little longer."

"Am I going to die, Grant?" Lindsey asked catching the man in question off guard.

He looked over to Leo for help, but found him just as speechless. Grant didn't know. He didn't know if she was going to die. There was hope she would live, but just looking at her he knew he breaths were running out. For certain her knew she was going to die if they didn't get her on the Bus. Either she was going to bleed out or Hydra-heads were going to find them.

"No," Grant assured. "I won't let that happen."

"It's really cold," Lindsey whimpered.

Fitz took his jacket off and helped Grant wrap it around her body while they kept running. When she was situated, Grant hugged her body closer to him increasing his speed. They needed to get out now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Simmons," Fitz called out as him and Grant clambered into the lab, May and Coulson close behind. Grant laid Lindsey on the metal table as Simmons scrambled for supplies. Grant looked at his hands and had to fight the urge to scrub them on something; his hands were covered in Lindsey's blood. He wiped them on his jeans leaving a crimson streak on both legs.

Skye walked into the room saying something about baby names, but was stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the girl sprawled out on the counter. Her mouth was held a little bit agape and she looked like she was trying to form words. Then, her mouth clamped shut and tears glazed over her brown eyes. Grant pulled her into his body resting his chin on her head. She buried her face in his chest allowing Grant to hold her to the best of his ability. She was nine months pregnant and about to pop.

"Someone hand me that," Simmons demanded gesturing to a sedative shot resting on the counter. May tossed it to her and she caught it pulling ht cap off with her teeth. She injected into Lindsey's shoulder and they watched her relax, falling limp on the table. Her eyes fell closed slowly and she let out a soft sigh. The look of pain twisted into a look of serenity and peace.

"What was that?" Coulson asked.

"A sedative drug laced with an enzyme that breaks down infections and speeds up the healing process," Simmons replied. "She was in a lot of pain, for now she's in a deep sleep."

Jemma set to work stitching up Lindsey's various cuts and cleaning her up. It was only then that they realized that she was still in her dress from Prom and that black zig-zags ran up her right hand to her elbow. It almost looked like vines climbing up her arm like she was an old building.

"What is that?" Triplett asked.

"I don't know," Simmons whispered filling a vial with Lindsey's blood and put it into the petri-dish. She slid it under the slide and started examining it. "There's a toxin in her blood."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"It's a variation of the centipede serum," Simmons said to Fitz.

"What does that mean?" he asked with his mouthful of Doritos. He placed the bag on the table wiping his orange-powdered fingers on his sweater.

"Hydra is evolving faster than we thought. Not only does this mean this serum provides super-human strength, it also gives the subject the power to manipulate carbon."

"So basically everything on the face of the earth," Fitz said. Jemma nodded at him slowly. "I'll get Coulson."

Leo ran out of the room calling out Coulson's name loudly. He stumbled into the man almost knocking him on his backside.

"What?" Coulson asked clearly unamused.

"You need to come to the lab," Leo replied gasping for breath. "We have a problem."

Coulson followed him into the lab. Lindsey had been moved into the med pod, but her dried blood still stained the table.

"What's going on?" Coulson demanded.

"The toxin in Lindsey's bloodstream is a stable form of the centipede serum mixed with a next generation serum SHIELD made years ago, but quit studying," Jemma replied.

"What is the serum?" Coulson asked.

"Serum 6M9. Allows the patient to control carbon molecules," Fitz replied.

"Why did we stop studying it?" Coulson questioned.

"All of the subjects became power-crazed villains that tried to overthrow the United States government. The subjects were terminated and the serum was locked in the Fridge," Simmons said.

"I'm guessing there isn't an antidote," Coulson said blankly.

"I'm working on one, but I don't know the potential of the hybrid serum."

"She's Hydra's weapon," Fitz mumbled.

"What?" Coulson and Simmons asked simultaneously.

"Think about it," Leo started. "Lindsey's strong and unpredictable. She works alone and is very angry. Hydra took away everything she loved. She was the perfect candidate to become a soldier."


	11. Chapter 11: Human Fears

"That explains why they needed all that information on her," Grant said leaning back in his chair.

The team had gathered in the conference room talking about the recent findings. Well, not the whole team. Lindsey was still out cold in the med-pod.

"And why Garrett didn't kill her," Triplett added.

"But why did they need a super soldier?" Skye asked. "I mean, they have Mike and Garrett. Why turn an eighteen year old girl into a monster?"

Silence settled over the group and none of them dared to meet each other's gaze. Jemma busied herself looking over the tablet in front of her. On half of the screen, she had the video feed from the med-pod pulled up so she could monitor Lindsey. On the other half of the screen she was scrolling through data she had collected.

"They weren't trying to make a monster," Coulson said. "They were trying to make a soldier that was easily trustable. Lindsey is beautiful and looks like a normal kid, right? She would get them into the places regular agents couldn't. And by mixing the two serums instead of turning her into a cyborg, she still looks normal."

"Who says she would oblige to the missions they had in place for her?" May asked.

"They didn't know whether she would or not," Simmons suggested.

"That's a pretty big risk to take, don't you think?" Skye said shifting in her chair. Lately, she hadn't been able to get comfortable no matter how she sat. And she had to pee like every five minutes. She had made three bathroom breaks since they had gathered in the conference room.

"Hydra is willing to take risks," Grant said. "That's why they were able to take over SHIELD."

And again no one said anything. Grant wasn't wrong, Hydra did take risks. So far that had proven successful, but at some point it wouldn't be. Someone would take too big a bet and they would lose all of their chips. Maybe Lindsey would be they're faulty play.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lindsey startled awake, her eyes flying open. Pain pulsed through her body as she looked around desperately trying to place her location. It took a moment for her to realize that she was laying in the med-pod hooked up to several monitors.

Jemma ran into the room in a white lab coat and disheveled hair. Lindsey tried to form words, but her throat was too dry. And only then did she realize that there was an oxygen mask covering her mouth.

Lindsey clawed at it trying to pull it off, but more pain filled her body. She gave up, dropping her arm on the bed. Simmons smiled at her as she gently removed the mask from her face.

"How long was I out?" Lindsey rasped.

"Three days," Jemma replied sitting on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"

Instinctively, she ran her fingers through the younger girl's tangled blonde hair.

"Like I got hit by a bus," Lindsey chuckled.

"What do you remember?" Jemma asked.

"Not much," Lindsey said. "I remember Garrett reading me my SHIELD file on the first day and a lot of needles. They kept injecting me with this weird thing that felt like someone was setting me on fire. And Garrett's fist."

"That bastard," Grant muttered. It was only then that either one of the girls noticed that he was standing in the doorway. He appeared to be fuming with anger. Grant hated Garrett. Not only because he had turned him into a monster, but he had hurt Lindsey. Grant's fist connected with the steel wall of the med-pod. To his credit, he left a sizable dent in the wall, but the impact had also busted his knuckles.

"Easy, Bruiser," Lindsey rasped. "What good is breaking your hand going to do?"

Lindsey tried to get out of bed, but Jemma always yelled at her. It was like she was constantly watching her or she had sensors in the bed that beeped every time her butt left it. Skye stood in the doorway smiling at her a little bit.

"Was she this big a pain in the ass when you got shot?" Lindsey huffed sitting up in her bed.

"Worse," Skye said sitting on the edge of the bed. "She wouldn't let me out of bed. Part of that might've been because she didn't know what she had injected me with and was running tests.

"I'm guessing you heard about my little predicament," Lindsey sighed fiddling with the edge of the blanket. She didn't meet Skye's eyes, didn't think she couldn't look at her without bursting into tears. Lindsey would never admit it, but she was terrified out of her mind. What if she turned into a monster, too? What if they couldn't remove the serums from her blood? What if she went insane. What if…..What if…..What if. Her mind was one large swirling question of what if. What if….What if….What if.. She was so sick of it.

"Linds," Skye said cupping the side of her face. "You're not like the rest of them soldiers. You are a good person and I know you are so much stronger than whatever Hydra wanted for you."

"But what if I'm not? We don't know what the mixture will do to me! We don't know the psychological effect any of it will have on me. We don't know!"

Lindsey hated not knowing, but that had become a normalcy in the last few months. Not knowing cam with the war they were fighting apparently. It kept you on your toes and continuously guessing. But even then, Lindsey was usually one step ahead of everything and everyone. Now, she wasn't. She didn't know what she was going to do now.

"I hate it as much as you do," Skye replied. "We all hate it, but we're trying our hardest to change it."

Lindsey huffed exasperatedly flopping her head against the pillow. It was such a teenager move for such an adult situation. Hell, not even adults dealt with this kind of situation. But, Lindsey was still a teenager and it was moments like these that forced everyone to remember. No matter how strong she was or how much she fought, there was no escaping it. Lindsey was a kid. Maybe she was old enough to vote in America and drink in most European countries, she still thought like a teenager. A smart, analytic teenager, but a teenager all the same.

"Skye," Lindsey said looking up. Tears were streaming down her pale cheeks now and real fear was spilling over in her eyes. "I'm scared."

"I know, sweetie," Skye said pulling Lindsey's body into her chest. "I know. It's okay, it's gonna be okay."

Lindsey's body shook with sobs as Skye ran her fingers through her hair.

"Hey, look at me," Skye said pulling her back. Using her thumbs to wipe tears out of her eyes. "It's okay to be scared sometimes. You might be some bad-ass SHIELD agent who is practically bullet proof, but you're still human."


	12. Chapter 12: Terror

Lindsey's fist collided with the solid plastic of the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She landed another punch which set the bag flying across the cargo hold and slamming into the wall making a loud thud.

"Don't break my plane, Conway," Coulson hollered.

Surprisingly, this happened a lot. Before she usually knocked the bags off of the chains at lease once a week. Sometimes twice if she was really angry. But now, it happened every time she worked out. The affects of the serum gave her unexplainable strength as well as many other superhuman traits. Lindsey wouldn't have minded the changes so much if it wasn't so hard to change. And the fact that she was constantly pissed off and on edge. When she got frustrated or angry, objects usually slammed into the wall without a second thought. When she walked by the lab, the equipment went crazy.

"Impressive," Tripp said walking down the winding metal staircase. He handed her a water bottle which she took smiling gratefully. "You might want to start getting ready for the mission. May said we land in an hour."

"Good," Lindsey huffed sitting on a crate. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."

"Couldn't agree more," Tripp sighed plopping down next to her.

Over the course of the last week, he had been helping Lindsey train. Not that he knew exactly what that entailed. He was just the only one brave enough to help Lindsey find her new limits.

And now, Lindsey was as ready as she's ever be to complete this mission. It was risky and possibly plain stupid, but nobody had a better plan.

Skye had hacked into the Hydra mainframe and found that the antidote from the serum flowing through Lindsey's veins was being held in a facility in Texas. Garrett just so happened to be hiding out there. It was almost perfect.

Grant, Lindsey, Tripp, Coulson and May would bust in. Fitz and Simmons would cause some distraction. May and Coulson would find the antidote. Tripp and Ward would find John Garrett and cross him off.

Skye, much to her dismay, would be locked down in the Bus. No one could get it and she couldn't get out unless Coulson typed in the code. She was two days past her due date with a baby that would be a weakness. Anyone could use that baby as leverage not only against Grant and Skye, but everyone on the team.

And that left Lindsey to reek havoc all over the facility. Why not raise hell? After all, it was her specialty. Coulson told her they might as well do as much damage while she still had an advantage over everyone, even the Hydra super soldiers.

Lindsey climbed the stairs Tripp closely behind her. The team was gathered in the lounge. Skye was laying on the couch her feet resting in Grant's lap. Fitz and Simmons were sitting on the couch sorting through papers.

Lindsey realized that the first time she saw any of them, this is what they were doing. Yeah, a lot had changed. Skye was now very pregnant and was currently whining about it. Grant was more scarred physically and probably emotionally.

Fitzsimmons wasn't just a dynamic duo of science geeks who saw the best in everyone. Their innocence had been stolen from them. They'd been shot at and lied to. They weren't kids anymore and they weren't just science geeks either; they were a part of the team and they were so much more to each other.

And Lindsey had changed to. Everything she thought she knew turned out to be a lie. Her boyfriend tried to kill her because he was Hydra. Her entire team had been killed. She had been kidnapped and tortured and turned into a monster. A monster that she had managed to contain, but how much longer would that last. How long before she lost control? Lindsey pushed the thought to the back of her mind, they were going to fix this. But she couldn't help but feel terrified. Terrified of herself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

She stepped into the lounge and everyone went silent. The block veins on her body had claimed her entire arm and had begun to wrap around her abdomen. Lindsey had done a pretty good job at hiding it, but as she stood there in her SHIELD uniform it was visible. The sleeves on her black t-shirt reached to her elbow and exposed her belly button. She had on ripped up black jeans that hugged her hips. Her combat boots were laced up and on her feet.

There was a red bullet proof vest strapped across her chest and holsters on both of her hips. A dagger was sticking out of her right boot and a spare gun out of the other. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and her dog tags were dangling around her neck. A gas mask hung out of her back pocket. Part of Fitzsimmons' distraction included gassing the building.

"Let's get a move on," Lindsey said loading a new mag into her gun before sliding it into a holster. "I look like I have some kind of infectious disease."

Grant chuckled standing up. Leave it to Lindsey to make a joke about a dire situation.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Status," Lindsey said over the comm. Her voice was muffled by the gas mask covering her mouth.

Garrett's super-soldiers didn't appear to be affected by the gas poisoning the air. Lindsey landed a punch to one of the soldier's throat and she felt a snap against her fist. He stumbled backward his hands around his throat as gasped for air.

Another soldier grabbed her wrapping his large arm around her throat. Lindsey flailed around trying to pull herself out of his grasp. Giving up, she stopped moving and closed her eyes. She focused all over her energy on this man. Relaxing, she imagined his heart beating in his chest. Blood flowing through arteries and into the rest of his body. And then she imagined his heart just stopping, freezing in his chest like ice had claimed it.

He fell to the ground behind her his hand pressing into his chest. When she lifted her hold on him, he laid there on the floor. Lindsey wasn't sure if he was still alive or not, but didn't have enough time to check.

Lindsey turned on her heel and sprinted down the hallway.

"Status," she repeated.

The only thing she could hear was static. No response, not even from Skye. Shit. This was a horrible time for things to go wrong. But the mission had always been fragile like a glass of water on the edge of the table. But the glass was bumped and it clattered to the floor glass shattering and water spilling all over the floor.

Her pace increased and she pulled a gun out of the holster. She unclipped the safety and started firing at all of the people running toward her. They were mindless soldiers after all, too far gone to save.

When she came to the lab, she saw him. John Garrett, standing in front of this clear cabinet holding the antidote and Serum 6M9. He smirked at her smugly crossing his arms over his chest.

Lindsey pointed her gun at him, but she knew as well as he did that this gun couldn't kill him. Just like a gun couldn't kill her. They were monsters and because of science and greed, they were almost invincible. Almost. Lindsey still had the advantage here.

"Hello," Garrett said.

"Hi," Lindsey replied blankly.

"I hear you're looking for this," Garrett said pulling a vial out of the cabinet. "I don't know why, you have so much potential."

"I did some research about Serum 6M9," Lindsey stated not lowering her gun. "I know you mixed it with the Centipede serum."

"And?"

"The original patients that were exposed to Serum 6M9 turned into monsters. They were like you; power-crazed villains who wanted to overthrow SHIELD. The only _potential_ I showed was to become your new soldier. I was going to become a weapon. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem too promising."

"You don't see it like I do," Garrett said.

"You're right," Lindsey replied. "I don't see it like you because I still have some sanity. You lost yours a long time ago."

Garrett chuckled.

"You and I are very similar, Lindsey."

"How?"

"We want freedom and we are both willing to pay the price."

"Not when the price entails taking away freedom or terrorizing innocent people."

Lindsey fired her gun emptying the whole mag into Garrett's chest. It might not kill him, but it would keep him preoccupied for a second.

Lindsey tried to calm her racing thoughts and clear her mind entirely. She knew that this would probably kill her. Garrett was strong, but she was stronger. She felt the energy draining out of her body as she imagined every particle of his body. All the cells that made up John Garrett. It was easier that way, to break him up into cells than think of him as a human being.

And then she saw the death that John Garrett deserved pop into her mind. He deserved to be in pain, he deserved to suffer. The monster in her wouldn't show mercy, not if it was the last thing she did. She wanted it to mean something. As the energy flowed out of her body, she watched John Garrett's body lock up under her control. He let out an agonizing scream as his lungs rejected the air he was trying so desperately to gasp in.

"We are not similar," Lindsey said standing over him as he collapsed to the ground. Terror filled his eyes mixed with the pain she was causing him. "We might both be monsters, but we are monsters for different reasons. You picked to be a terrorist and you chose your path. And you chose mine too. When I was helpless, you abused me and you turned me into some demon. You injected me with some poison that changed the way my mind and my body worked. My heart doesn't just pump blood anymore, it pumps a toxin into my body that is slowly taking over me. But you won't get to see it."

Garrett was turning a shade of purple, but she didn't loosen her grip on him no matter how weak she felt.

"You won't get to see me become the terrorist you wanted me to become," Lindsey said. The life slipped out of him and he slumped against the ground dead.

"Lindsey," someone shouted from behind her. She couldn't respond. Lindsey dropped to her knees feeling the life pull out of her body. She was dying and strangely enough that was okay. When she died on the cold ground of the lab floor, two demons would be off of the face of the planet.

Then this cold feeling washed over her and she let it embrace her as she fell into darkness.


	13. Chapter 13: Impartial Being

Lindsey did not die that day. Well actually she did die according to the law. Her heart stopped beating in her chest, the blood pumping through her veins ceased flowing. No air was filling her lungs. The pain and the anger permanently carved into her face had faded into this look of peace and serenity. If they didn't know any better, they would've thought that she was just sleeping. But they knew better and she wasn't just sleeping. Lindsey Conway was dead and the scariest part of that was that they all knew she wanted to be that way.

And science was this impartial being that didn't create monsters nor miracles. People created those using science. Science only provided potential. Humans chose what they did with that potential.

Hydra had taken the opportunity to make stronger, more advanced humans. But, they turned the humans into monsters out for blood.

But there was still the potential to make miracles and that was what Lindsey needed; a miracle. And that miracle came from a small vial of light blue liquid that looked a little bit like Powerade. But it wasn't. It was some alien drug that was the only hope Lindsey had.

Just like she had done for Skye, Jemma injected the miracle into Lindsey's body the needle piercing through the skin on her abdomen. And then they waited. Lindsey's body didn't react the way Skye's did when the serum hit her blood. Her body didn't start spasming like Skye's had. It laid limp on the metal table in the middle of the lab where Grant had hastily dumped her. And they thought they had lost her.

Then, she gasped in a large breath of air and her eyes flew open. She was wheezing and sputtering, but she was alive. Choking and coughing on the air filling her lungs, Lindsey leaned over the edge of the table and emptied the contents of her stomach all over the lab floor.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand Lindsey slumped back against the table and closed her eyes. The serene look on her face had been transformed to the angry grimace it was set in.

Science hadn't turned her into a monster and it hadn't saved her life either. People did.

"I died," Lindsey stated her voice raspy.

"No," Coulson said. "You did not die."

"Actually," Leo corrected looking at his feet. He was standing in a pool of vomit and looked like he was about to be sick himself. "You did technically die, but you're not dead anymore."

"So I'm a monster and a ghost, great," Lindsey huffed.

"No, you're neither," Coulson said. He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes stuck to her face with sweat.

"You got the antidote?" Lindsey asked.

"No," Ward sighed. "We didn't get the antidote, but you did kill Garrett."

"At least something went right today."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lindsey was horrified. Coulson had decided that they would not return to the compound. They would not be tracking down the antidote to Serum 6M9. It was too risky.

"I'm sorry, Lindsey," Coulson said placing a file in his drawer. "But we are not going back. We can't risk that, again."

"But Hydra is in shambles and weak right now. This is the best opportunity we have ever had," Lindsey reasoned.

"No," Coulson stated.

"A team is supposed to take care of each other," Lindsey shouted angrily. Objects in the room started rising into the air as her volume increased.

"And I'm taking care of my team by not allowing them to do another suicide mission," Coulson countered.

"No," Lindsey replied. "You're killing me. I'm a monster and I can't fight it. If I don't get that antidote I'm not going to be able to control myself."

"My decision is final," Coulson said looking at her in the eye. "We are not going back because I don't have the means to save another member of my team when they die in that hellhole. Are we clear, Agent Conway?"

"Crystal," Lindsey said coldly. Anger was still written clearly on her face, but the objects that had been airborne slammed back down to their homes making a collective thud.

She turned on her heel and walked out of the room, her hips swaying and her steps precise. The office door slammed behind her without her touching it and the lights flickered as she strut by.

"You know she isn't going to take no for an answer," May said stepping into the office crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know," Coulson said. "But if I let her go back into that compound, she will not come back alive. I can't let that happen. She's too young, she needs someone to look after her."

"No she doesn't," May replied. "She can take care of herself. She's a good agent."

"But she's also a kid," Coulson said.

Lindsey was a kid, she was barely eighteen. Most girls her age would be preparing to go to college and making out with their boyfriends. Lindsey wasn't going to college or making out with her boyfriend. One, she knew everything she needed to know for the field she was going to be working in for the rest of her life. Two, her boyfriend was a traitorous snake that she shot several times in the chest. And most importantly, other girls her age didn't kill for a living. They didn't have to worry about being ripped apart from the inside out by a terrorist that was raging in their blood.


	14. Chapter 14: Birth

Adelynn Maya Ward. Eight pounds 9 ounces, 20 inches. Skye finally had the little angle. She wasn't born in the hospital, that was too risky. So she was delivered in a secured location just outside of Prague by Simmons. Fitz was going to help, but he passed out before Skye even started pushing.

Lindsey ended up being Simmons assistant. Apparently she had delivered a baby before. No one really dared to ask about that

When she was finally out, a loud wail cut through the air like a knife. Skye collapsed against the bed gasping for air. Grant brushed a strand of hair out of her face kissing her on the forehead.

There was a wide grin on his lips and Lindsey could've sworn that there were a few tears in the corners of his eyes, but she didn't bring it up. He probably would've keeled over if he knew someone saw him actually being human. So Lindsey just smiled to herself as she stood in the middle of the room and watched everything going on around her.

Grant and Melinda stood at the head of the bed each holding one of her hands. Skye was slumped on the bed her entire body glowing with sweat. Her face was pink and her breathing was ragged. Despite how exhausted she looked, she looked pretty happy. Lindsey didn't know how, but Skye seemed to be smiling a little just savoring the moment.

Coulson and Fitz had been pacing in the hallway outside of room were now standing in the open doorway. They were both grinning. Fitz had this childish expression on his face that reminded Lindsey how resilient he was. He had been through hell in the last few months, but you wouldn't be able to tell looking at him.

Tripp stood behind the two men with a large gun in his hands. He had been on guard, but even he was distracted by the miracle taking place in the little room.

And then there was Jemma cleaning off the little angel that they had gone through hell to make sure actually made it to earth. Lindsey had shot nineteen Hydra men when she was on guard and she had heard at least seven shots since Tripp's shift had started.

Adelynn was covered in this yellow waxy stuff and some blood. Birth might have been a miracle, but it was disgusting and in no means beautiful. She was this small little thing with a tuft of black hair on her head that was matted down with the wax her body was covered in. Her whole body was this pink color and she was still screaming bloody murder. It amazed Lindsey that such a small thing could make so much noise. But this baby would surprise her a lot.

After Jemma had cleaned her up a little and wrapped her in this little pink flowery blanket that Melinda had produced surprising everyone. No one really knew where she got it. Adelynn now resembled a burrito; a cute burrito. She watched Skye cradle her little baby in her arms with tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Hi, baby," she cooed. Grant was standing over her watching his girlfriend and his baby. Lindsey grabbed her camera out of her pocket and snapped a picture while no one was watching. First family photo.

The last few months had been hell for Lindsey and she was terrified out of her mind, but right now it was okay. Well, not entirely okay. This moment though, kept her mind off of the fact that the world was an evil place. There wasn't one thing on her mind and for a moment she had forgotten about the war raging inside of her body.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lindsey had never planned to hold Adelynn. She was too small and fragile and innocent. And Lindsey was rough and a killer. She didn't plan on a lot of things that happened. Lindsey had been pretty good at avoiding even touching the baby at all. She was three months old now and she hadn't done more than look at her.

It was late, way too late for Lindsey to be awake. She was a teenage insomniac and was walking down the hallway on the Bus on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water when she heard it. It was a little whimper at first and Lindsey wasn't even sure if she had actually heard something.

Then, she heard it again. It was coming from Grant's bunk. So Lindsey typed in the code on the keypad. 1234. He might've been a super bad-ass super spy, but he really sucked at coming up with passwords. That was like the most predictable code in the world.

The door slid open and she saw Skye and Grant sprawled out on the bed in the corner entirely out cold. And sure enough, Adelynn laid in her bed full out screaming now. Lindsey strode across the room and lifted the baby out of the crib that Tripp and Ward had struggled to put together. Instinctively, she cradled her in her arms rocking her kind of as she turned to exit the room.

She entered the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator. Shifting Adelynn so she was resting in one arm, Lindsey reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle. Using her hip she bumped the door closed and walked back to the lounge.

Only after she had sat down and fed the baby the whole body did she realize that she was holding Adelynn. She wasn't just holding her, she was burping her. She had fed her and taken care of her.

So when she let out this little burp and then sighed. Lindsey laid back on the couch resting Adelynn on her chest. Both fell asleep on that couch.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lindsey woke up the next morning to the flash of a camera. She saw the whole team gathered in front of the couch with their arms crossed over their chests and smiles on their faces. Grant held Lindsey's camera in one of his hands.

"Morning, sunshine," Leo said smiling at her.

Lindsey grumbled a response shifting Adelynn as she sat up. With her free hand she rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?" Lindsey asked. Everyone was still in their pajamas and Lindsey's lips curved into a smile upon her seeing Fitz's pants covered in bananas and monkeys.

"Seven-thirty," Coulson replied looking at his watch.

"Do you sleep with your watch?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"Are those bunny slippers?" Grant asked.

"Yes," Lindsey smiled. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Grant said stifling a chuckle. "I think they're cute."

"Is that a ketchup stain on the right one?" Fitz asked.

"Nope," Lindsey said popping the 'p.' "It's blood."

"I'm not even going to ask," Fitz grumbled taking a sip of the coffee in his hand.

"I'm actually interested, how did you get blood on your bunny slippers?" Tripp asked.

"I'm not actually sure," Lindsey said examining her slipper. "It could be mine or it could be someone else's. I don't really know."

"I wish I hadn't asked," Tripp replied.


	15. Chapter 15: Drunken Stupor

The sour liquid slid down her throat burning the whole way down. She sucked in a breath of air before taking another large gulp of vodka. Lindsey had never planned to be this kind of agent. The one who was the untouchable robot that felt nothing during the day, but got hammered every night. But she hadn't planned to go through this hell either.

Though she would never have admitted to anyone, she was not strong enough to deal with it. So for the last month Lindsey had fallen into this toxic routine where she went to bed with everyone else. Then, after everyone else fell asleep, she snuck back out into the lounge with a bottle of booze from her stash. By the end of the night she would down the whole bottle. She would throw the bottle away in the kitchen where the trash was burned every morning and then, she would stumble back to bed.

When Lindsey woke up the next morning, she would drag herself out of bed with a pounding headache. She would pop a few Advil and knock back a whole pot of coffee before the rest of the team woke up. With a few brushes of makeup, any evidence of a hangover was hidden.

It was a system and a pretty successful one. She was too numb to feel anything and no one was the wiser. It was child's play for Lindsey and it was almost a game. Almost.

That night, Lindsey had been a little careless and she thought she had gotten away with it too. She hadn't. Lindsey had drained a little more than half of the bottle before her recklessness caught up to her.

Grant, he was the one to find her there. She was already drunk enough that her senses were starting to become unreliable. So it was easy to sneak up on her. His arm wrapped around her waist and he pried the bottle out of her hand. Lindsey spun around ready to fight and even in her drunken stupor, she managed to land a pretty solid blow to his cheek. It wouldn't leave a mark, but he was still impressed.

"Give it back, Grant," she hissed.

"No," he replied.

She tried to attack him and there was anger in her eyes. Grant didn't fight back, just blocked every punch and kick. Never did he lash out. Grant knew that she was going to run out of steam quickly.

When she finally did use all the fight she still had, she slumped against him sobbing. Grant placed the bottle on the counter and wrapped his arms around her.

"I can't do it," she cried her words mushing together. "I can't."

"That doesn't mean you need to give yourself alcohol poisoning," Grant replied.

"You don't get it," she whispered pulling away from him. "You don't have this monster inside of you that you're fighting, but it's like you're fighting yourself. No matter what happens I can't win because no matter what I will become this monster. I can't become a monster."

"You're not a monster, Lindsey."

"Yes I am. I don't have nightmares anymore. And I would take those nightmares back; I have these dreams where I kill whole towns' worth of people because I can. The thoughts that run through my mind as I do are the kinds of things Garrett would think. They're _evil._ I've never been a good person, but I've never been evil before. I've never had to fight my nature."

That's when Grant got it. She was right, Grant had never had to fight his nature before. It had always been about orders. But with Lindsey there was no one black mailing her or making her do the things in her dreams. She was doing it because her body made her. The nature of the poison Garrett had injected into her was animalistic and psychotic.

He was going to fix this. At least try to fix it. He knew Coulson would never send the team back in to get the serum, but he also knew that he could get it. So he lifted Lindsey up like she weighed nothing and carried her bridal style back to her bunk.

Grant laid her gently on her bed and pulled the covers up to cover her body. When he pulled away, her arms wrapped tighter around his neck.

"Don't leave me," she whispered. Her voice made her sound so small and fragile.

"Never," he said lying down next to her. Lindsey nestled her little body into his and he draped his arm over her. It wasn't long before she was out like a light and Grant laid there a minute before standing to leave.

He brushed a strand of tangled blonde hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead before turning and exiting the room. The door slid closed behind him and he walked back to his bunk with a plan already beginning to take form in his mind.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Lindsey," Grant said walking into the lounge. "I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Lindsey asked lying down the case file on the bar. She was sitting on one of the stools by herself. The sunlight streaming in from the window illuminated her features. She had on black leggings, fuzzy socks and a purple sports bra. Grant could see the poison in her veins claiming her entire arm and all around her abdomen. Faint black spindles even peeked out from the collar of her sports bra and around the back of her neck. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought it was a tattoo. Unfortunately, he knew better.

"About your predicament," Grant said sitting on the stool next to Lindsey.

"If you're here to tell me that we can't do anything about it I don't want to hear it," Lindsey said twisting to look at him.

"That's not what I'm going to say."

"Then what is it?" Lindsey demanded. Her stare was cold and calculating. Grant felt like she was looking into him like she could see every thought forming in his mind. It was very possible that she could now, see the nerves and the sensors in his brain flickering. Because like him, his brain was made of carbon.

"When I first joined this team, Coulson told me something."

"He told me something too," Lindsey deadpanned.

"Will you not be a smart-ass and let me finish?" Grant asked.

Lindsey sighed rolling her eyes.

"Like I was saying. Coulson told me that he had seen both monsters and gods and that they really weren't that different. That they weren't defined by their power, they were defined by the choices they made. The monsters chose to take the power they had to terrorize people. The gods used their power to help people."

"What are you getting at?" Lindsey asked.

"That you aren't a monster, Linds," Grant said. "You are only a monster if you choose to be."

"You know, you make it sound so much easier than it is," Lindsey said. "I might be able to choose what I become, but my power to choose is dwindling."

"What?"

"My perspective is changing, Grant," Lindsey said. "I've done a lot of research about the drugs they used on me and I did some hacking into Hydra to find the test results of the mixed serums. I wasn't the first person to be tested on."

"Since when do you hack?"

"I learned a few things from Skye, but I've always been able to hack."

"Oh."

"Anyway," Lindsey said. "The scientists designed the serums to be like the affects of the berserker staff. It targets your anger and your memories to fuel your rage. The only difference is that it doesn't fade with time. It continues to crack into your memories until all you can remember is the anger and all you can do is seek revenge."

"You can still choose, Lindsey," Grant said. "You're strong enough to pick and fight it."

"Maybe I don't want to be good anymore," Lindsey said. "Maybe I want to be like my dad and my family."

The glasses and bottles of liquor started shaking. Several flew into the air and some smashed into the wall shattering into millions of pieces.

"No you don't!" Grant shouted back at her. "I know you don't!"

"And how do you know that!" Lindsey demanded tears streaming down her cheeks. The papers on the bar were starting to flutter around the room.

"Because I know evil," Grant said. "I've been around evil my entire life. Garrett was evil, but you, Lindsey, you aren't evil. You are not evil."

"I'm not a good person, Grant," Lindsey said.

"None of us are," Grant replied. "But that doesn't make you evil. You have to chose evil and as far as I can see, you've picked good."

The papers started to fall around them now and the glasses that weren't lying in shards on the floor found their way back to the counter. Lindsey had picked and with that decision came control. She chose good or as close to good that she could ever get.


	16. Chapter 16: Trustworthy

Wisps of blonde hair blew into Lindsey's face. She sat perched on the roof of a SHIELD base in Kansas overlooking the courtyard. They had spent the last couple of months here hiding from Hydra. It was another one of Fury's secret bases and as far as they were concerned, it was safe here.

Her attire was nothing significant. Black lace up boots, dark shorts, a navy tank top with light blue feathers on it, her military jacket and a long necklace she had snagged from Skye. In a rush, she had pulled her hair into a messy braid.

Coulson hadn't budged on going back into the compound. Lindsey still had the serum racing through her veins being pumped further and further into her body by her heart. Simmons had put together an antidote that stopped the spread of the toxin in her body. The veins that were growing visible on her body had stopped and even had started to disappear. But the vine-like lines wrapped around her hand unfading.

And she had also started to control her powers or whatever they were. Sometimes when Lindsey got mad or really upset random objects around her started flying. Still, it was progress and that was good.

The nightmares had become bearable too. She no longer saw herself as a monster killing people and enjoying it, but she saw the old demons. The ones where Shannon and Evens were dying. Surprisingly, she almost welcomed those.

Coulson had declared SHIELD officially on hiatus, but when he announced this he also made it clear that they weren't agents of nothing. They were agents of SHIELD and that still had meaning. Not just that someone really wanted to initials to spell out shield, but that there was still goodness in the world.

"You ready, Agent Conway?" Someone asked from behind her.

Lindsey whipped around to find Agent Hill standing in full mission gear. All of the agents that Coulson had gathered had been brought her over the past few months. Maria Hill was one of the first ones to climb off of the jets. Barton and Romanoff were close behind along with Steve Rogers.

Bruce Banner had also been brought in a few weeks ago. He spent most of his time in the labs working on weapon development and other sciencey stuff. Jane Foster, though not an official agent of SHIELD, was on base too.

Lindsey nodded her head stepping away from the ledge. She ran a hand through her windblown hair and followed the superior agent down the stairs and through the hallways. The hallways were this crazy maze of winding corridors and identical doors. Lindsey had spent her first month here entirely lost. But now, she knew her way through the compound.

They entered the conference room on the main floor. Everyone currently living in the facility was gathered there already. Lindsey sat in a chair next to Fitz who smiled at her.

"Alright," Coulson said from the head of the table. "Let's get started."

Lindsey glanced across the table and found Agent Simon Matthews smiling at her. He was about her age and according to his file, very similar to her. When he was fifteen he was recruited by John Garrett and trained like Grant was. But apparently he didn't show the potential Garrett was looking for and Simon was then transferred to a team based out of Moscow. His parents were wanted fugitives and as far as society was concerned, he didn't exist.

"Conway?" Coulson said pulling Lindsey out of her train of thought.

"Yeah?" Lindsey asked.

"Are you prepared to infiltrate the Hydra compound we have uncovered in Nebraska?" He asked.

"Of course, sir," Lindsey replied.

"You need to put together a team," Coulson instructed.

Lindsey started mulling over her options in her head. There were so many good agents here, but very few she actually trusted.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The mission went well, surprisingly. Lindsey had gotten back to the compound with the rest of her makeshift team relatively unharmed. There were some minor injuries and some lovely bruises, but nothing life-threatening.

"Conway," someone hollered. Lindsey could hear footsteps pounding toward her and she turned around. Simon was running in her direction.

"Call me Lindsey," she said shooting him a half-hearted smile. She was pretty exhausted and really just wanted to take a shower before passing out in her bed.

"Lindsey," Simon said. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm impressed with how you handled the mission."

"Thanks," Lindsey replied. "You were pretty amazing too."

"I also wanted to say that I was wrong about you," Simon said. When Lindsey's expression twisted into one of confusion, he continued. "When I first met you I thought you were going to be like every other teenage agent I had met."

"What would that be like?" She asked.

"Arrogant, distant, cocky and totally indifferent."

"You read my file didn't you?" Lindsey chuckled. "That's why my file says I am."

"I did read your file, but I read everyone's file so don't flatter yourself."

"Don't worry, I read your file too," Lindsey said turning to walk away.

"Did you like what you saw?"

"You could say that," Lindsey replied opening the door to her quarters.

Simon smiled at her and she closed the door when he started to walk back down the hallway. Lindsey was kind of worried about the way she was feeling at that moment. This giddy sensation filling her body, she had felt it before. But every other time she had felt it, she had been so brutally disappointed. Michael had turned out to be a traitorous snake. David had ended up being no better than Michael. Both had tried to destroy her, both ended up being enemies.

Simon was different though. Coulson trusted him otherwise he wouldn't even be here and she was more like him than any one she had ever met. He was broken and young. Like her, his hands were dripping with innocent blood and he was trying to repay it. The man who recruited him turned out to be corrupt and kind of insane.

Lindsey wasn't really sure what it was that she felt for that boy. But whatever it was, it was strong and demanding. A small smile tugged at her lips as she dropped her bag on the floor.

When she stepped into the bathroom and peeled her clothes away from her body, she continued thinking about Simon. But it wasn't really Simon she was thinking about. It was the pros and cons of letting him in.


	17. Chapter 17: Protection and Freedom

"Why won't you just let me in," Simon asked.

They had just gotten back from a mission, just the two of them. Neither had said anything to each other, hadn't dared to. The mark had fallen, but several civilians had fallen in the crossfire as well. Lindsey was sporting this lovely bruise on her eye and a gunshot wound on her shoulder. Simon's arm was in a sling and there was this nasty looking gash slicing through his left eyebrow.

The mission had gone horribly wrong and Lindsey had watched a child die in the middle of the street after being shot by the Hydra agent. She had turned around and shot the bastard, but something in her snapped. This kid was innocent and he died the way she would most likely die. A bullet to the head. The worst part was that he hadn't died instantly, but he didn't cry either. He just laid there dying slowly.

When all the Hydra agents had fallen, Lindsey ran toward him ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder. He died in her arms with this haunting look of peace in his eyes. Simon had to rip her away from his lifeless body and drag her to the quin-jet to get cleaned up.

"I trust you," Lindsey stated not looking at him.

"You may trust me with your life," Simon said. "But you won't let me see you. The real Lindsey. Today was the first time I saw a hint of a girl who wasn't totally brainwashed and emotionless."

Lindsey didn't respond, just continued to stare off into the darkness surrounding them. She looked like a mess with her hair falling out of her ponytail and her ripped up SHIELD jumpsuit. There was blood on her hands and she was very aware of the fact that it probably wasn't hers.

"I've read your file, Lindsey. I know about you dad and your years in freelance. I know about what happened with Michael and Lucas and I know that Garrett turned you into a weapon. Lindsey, I know that your dad's men killed your team and I know that you killed your father."

"Then you also know that I have a type B personality disorder and that I'm a murderer."

"I don't believe that you're Type B for one second. I do know that you are good a building covers and that if you wanted people to think that you were Type B you would make them. People who don't feel emotions like normal they should don't cry when a boy they've never met before dies."

"I don't let you in because I don't want to get hurt and I don't want to hurt you, either," Lindsey said quietly. Her voice made her sound so small and vulnerable. It broke Simon's heart.

"Lindsey, I'm not gonna hurt you. Partially because I know you would probably kill me if I did and if you didn't I know I'd have half the compound chasing after me. Besides, I don't want to hurt you."

Lindsey mulled over all the corners of her mind, but couldn't find any words to reply. So she leaned her body into his and exhaled a deep breath she hadn't realized she was withholding.

"I don't want to hurt you either," she whispered finally.

Simon smiled to himself kissing her on top of her head. Simon Matthews cracked the hard façade of the great Lindsey Conway.

"You smell like sweat and blood," Lindsey said her voice muffled in Simon's chest.

"You don't smell to hot yourself," Simon teased.

Lindsey pulled away chuckling a little bit to herself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"You won't be able to stop us," Agent Sitwell said to Lindsey. He had his hands in the air and a smug look on his lips. Lindsey had two guns trained on him.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Lindsey asked slipping the safety off of both of the guns. Her grip on both was strong as she tightened her finger around the triggers. "You are the only leader left that we haven't killed yet. And even if there are more of you, you're outnumbered."

"When you cut off one head," Sitwell started.

"Cut the crap," Lindsey interrupted. "Hydra stands alone. SHIELD is no longer a terrorist organization, we have governments with militaries and money standing behind us. We will win."

"Why haven't you shot me yet?" Sitwell asked.

"I'm supposed to bring you in for questioning unless you pose as a threat. You and I both know that you're living endangers mine. You're weak not only physically, but mentally."

"How so?"

"Not only do I know that you were shot in the chest fifteen years ago and were never reinstated as a full functioning field agent," Lindsey began. "I also know that you joined Hydra and let grow inside of SHIELD. That alone makes you weak."

"I think it means I'm apart of the future," Sitwell stated. "That I know what the world could be like and I'm willing to chase after it."

"God," Lindsey scoffed. "You're as crazy as Garrett was when I killed him."

"You killed Garrett?" Sitwell asked startled.

"I did and I enjoyed it."

"They told me that a monster made his heart stop beating in his chest with powers that Garrett's scientists injected into it."

"They told you right," Lindsey said. "Except the monster part. I prefer the term gifted."

"Gifted?"

"I have the power to manipulate carbon," Lindsey said. "So I can basically manipulate anything living, anything with carbon in it or anything that has ever lived."

"Then why use a weapon? Aren't they a bit obsolete for you?"

Lindsey knew what he meant because he saw her power or whatever you wanted to call it as a tool for evil; a weapon itself. He saw it for what it could be used for to change the world into the image Hydra wanted it to be. Agent Sitwell didn't see it as a gift that could be used for good or to save people. Though Lindsey could also make hearts stop, she also discovered that she could make wounds heal. Grant had been right when he said that everyone had a choice in every situation; to be good or evil. To use what they had been given to be good or evil. Lindsey had chosen good despite all odds, despite what the research said she would pick.

"Because I'm more than just a weapon and I don't make it a habit of making people suffer unlike some people."

"Lindsey, we want the same thing," Sitwell said. "We both want freedom."

"No," Lindsey said. "Why do people keep saying that I want the same thing as you crazy Hydra-heads? I don't want freedom at the price that you're paying. I want protection _and _freedom. Protection at all costs, that's what SHIELD was founded on. Protection from aliens or monsters or bad guys and sometimes ourselves. Hydra is the bad guy, Sitwell. You're a bad guy."

That's when Lindsey fired the gun in her right hand. If Sitwell had looked a little bit closer at it, he would've known that it was an Icer.


	18. Chapter 18: Gift Wrapped

Sitwell sat slumped in his chair, his head dangling over the table. Lindsey knew he was awake, she had watched him struggle against the bonds she had used to tie him to the chair. She might have tied them a little too tight. Coulson had given her strict orders not to torture him, but she wanted to cause him physical pain. This was her best option.

"You're going to have to go in there eventually, you know that right?" Grant asked standing in the doorway. His voice startled her and she flinched a little.

"God, Grant," Lindsey huffed. "Don't sneak up on my like that."

"Sorry," he chuckled.

"I know I have to go in," Lindsey said her voice snapping a little. "But he recruited me; he's another man that I made the mistake of trusting. The list keeps getting longer and longer."

In the glass of the one way window, Grant could see a tear sliding down her cheek. That one little tear looked so out of place. Lindsey was wearing a black tank top that showed off her belly button and ripped up jeans. Her holsters were still strapped to her waist and ankle. She still had on her leather biker gloves and her muddy boots. Her hair was pulled into a neat pony tail and the stud in her nose twinkled a little in the fluorescent lighting of the interrogation room.

"You can do this, Linds," Grant said putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze.

Lindsey walked over to the door letting out a deep breath and popped her neck. She made a joke out of stretching a little bit giggling to herself. "Let's do this thing," she muttered entering the room.

Sitwell looked up at her squinting a little. Lindsey had accidentally broken his glasses when she was dragging him to the jet. The man was as blind as a bat, it was a wonder he had ever been allowed to work in the field. Lindsey approached the table dropping a stack of files on the table. She had gone digging through SHIELD files as well as Sitwell's personal records. Grant was honestly surprised she could carry it, the stack probably weighed as much as she did. But it was Lindsey Conway and that girl was full of surprises.

"Sup, Sitwell," Lindsey asked her tone verging on mocking. The man just glowered at her. "No wonder your wife divorced you, you have no sense of humor."

"You read my file," he stated.

"I read all of your files actually. Your entire SHIELD file, any case file that mentioned you, your personal record from the United States government and even the files of anyone who ever had any contact with you at all; every last detail of your life is sitting on this table. Kinda pathetic isn't it? You were of such high stature in SHIELD and this is what your life comes down to. I almost feel sorry for you."

"Why did you read me files?"

Lindsey ignored him grabbing a file off of the top of the stack. It was labeled _Whitman, Cynthia_. She had two kids and married some guy who left her for a woman half his age. Her and Sitwell had once upon a time attended the same high school. Only she was a cheerleader and he was a geek.

"Now Cynthia, she's a sore spot, right?" Lindsey teased. "You asked her to junior prom and she rejected you."

Lindsey fake pouted and laid the open file in front of Sitwell. She opened another file, this one was his entry to SHIELD file. He was recruited by Alexander Pierce some forty years ago. He was caught in Florida at the age of nineteen working at an illegal science facility. Pierce liked what he saw and brought him in. But he wasn't for SHIELD, he was a gift hand wrapped for Hydra. Lindsey laid that file in front of him too. She continued doing that; picking up files, giving her little summary of whatever horror it held and then placed it open so Sitwell could see. She made it through about fifteen files before Sitwell interrupted her.

"Why are you doing this, Lindsey," he asked.

"Excuse me," Lindsey said. "But to you, I am Agent Conway or just Conway. You pick."

"I'm your superior, I can call you whatever I want."

"Um," Lindsey said. "Let's back up a few blocks. You are not my superior, you are a wanted fugitive. I am _your_ superior. I am a Level 6 agent, you work for a terrorist agency. I'm not sure about you, but I think I'm winning this round."

"Answer my question," he demanded.

"And why would I do that?" Lindsey smiled ever so innocently while leaning over the table and getting in his face. "This so much fun for me."

"You always were a pain in my ass," Sitwell grumbled.

"That's not what Garrett told me," Lindsey said hopping off the table. With her hands behind her back, she walked around the table not removing her eyes from Sitwell. "He said you recruited me because you saw something in me that could be valuable to Hydra. From the beginning, you knew I could potentially become a weapon."

"Garrett is dead," Sitwell said.

"You are correct," Lindsey replied. "But he interrogated me for over a month, Sitwell. And that man sure could rant when he got going. I think that was one of his many fatal flaws. He told too much to the wrong girl."

"Why haven't you started interrogating me yet," Sitwell asked.

"I'm just getting started," Lindsey said.

"But you haven't brought out the knives or poisons yet."

Lindsey had been notorious for being one of the most successful interrogators SHIELD had ever had. She wasn't exactly a people person, but she was one hundred pounds of pure anger. Lindsey always got the job done and that usually meant cutting deals or, her favorite, torture.

"Coulson gave me strict no torture orders," Lindsey said. "Sorry to disappoint."

She climbed back onto the table sitting crisscross applesauce only inches away from him. Lindsey might not have been able to physically harm that man, but she had other means of getting information she needed. And so help her she was going to get that damned information if it killed her.

"So," Lindsey said her voice surprisingly chipper. "I really need to know anything about Hydra, but Coulson wants to know about that little science facility you used to work at when Pierce found you."

"It was illegal."

"Well no duh, otherwise they would've found you. What were you guys researching?"

"Isn't it the file?"

"No, most of the information was redacted, but you already knew that."

"We were researching human biology."

"Can't you get that from a textbook? I mean, I know science was a little bit pathetic back then, but still. We had a basic idea of how the human body functioned."

"We were researching the human brain specifically," Sitwell said. "There's this old myth that humans only have the ability to access ten percent of the brain's capacity."

"Yeah," Lindsey said. "What did you get from the research?"

"From what I understand, the serum that was eventually adopted by SHIELD and labeled 6M9. The same serum that gave you your special little powers."

"The thing I hate most about SHIELD is that when we think something is a bad idea, we just decide that maybe it'll work for us. Like, better neutralize that threat and make them work for us. Or, oh that blew up and their faces, lets see if we can make a weapon out of that."

"You're a sarcastic little shit aren't you."

"Yep," Skye said. "Grant says it's my best trait."

"Are you sleeping with Agent Ward?"

"Oh God, no," Lindsey said her face scrunching into an expression of disgust. "I haven't had sex in like over a year. Since like before I shot Michael. And if I was going to have sex, I would probably not pick a thirty something SHIELD agent with a fiancée and a six month old daughter. I mean I have some morals; not a lot, but some."


End file.
